Fast Break
Rowing
WSU rowers invited to NCAAs
The Washington State women’s rowing team was one of 12 teams selected Tuesday to compete at the NCAA championships May 30 through June 1.
The other team invitations went to Brown, California, Harvard, Michigan State, Ohio State, Princeton, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Yale. Four additional schools – Clemson, Michigan, USC and Stanford – will race only their top boat, the varsity 8, on Lake Natoma outside of Sacramento, Calif.
Aside from their Pac-10 rivals, the Cougars have raced against just Wisconsin and Clemson this season, beating both teams.
The WSU women earned the championship berth after their varsity 8 finished third – behind California and Stanford – in the Pac-10 championship Sunday. The Cougars have been nationally ranked all season, climbing to No. 4 heading into Pac-10s.
“I knew that they would take the varsity 8 for sure, but it was a question whether the team would be invited,” head coach Jane LaRiviere said of the NCAA selection. “I was optimistic. It wasn’t like a long shot to me.”
Fishing
Nania qualifies for nationals
Joey Nania of Liberty Lake won the Western Division of the Junior Bassmasters last Sunday against eight other Junior State Champions at Lake Coeur d’Alene. The win qualifies him for the Junior World Championships Nov. 3-8 at Milford Lake in Kansas.
Nania earned the top honors in the 15- to 18-year-old division with one of only two five-fish limits to be brought to the scales in the event. Nania’s fish tipped the scales at 9 pounds, 2 ounces.
This will be the third JWC for Nania, who competed in the 2005 and 2006 championships. He won the 2005 event.
Softball
Seniors turn rare triple play
Fred Taylor is 62 years old, but that doesn’t mean he and his buddies can’t work a little magic on the softball diamond.
On Monday the Veterinary Surgical Specialists team, competing in the Over 50 Spokane Senior Softball League, completed a rare around-the-horn triple play. The play occurred when the opposing team, Tate Inc., had runners on first and second base with no outs.
The next batter up hit a ball sharply to third baseman Taylor, who stepped on third for the first out and threw to the second baseman Karl LeBret, 52, for the second out. Karl then turned and threw to first baseman Cliff Endicott, 58, to complete the rarest play in softball.
Taylor has been playing slowpitch softball for more than 40 years and said he had only seen it done a few other times.
“The runners aren’t quite as fast as they used to be, but it’s still rare,” said Taylor.
VSS won the game 16-2 and is 4-0 in league play.