Zags place third

Gonzaga University’s men’s varsity 8+ boat placed third in its semifinal Friday during the second day of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta on Lake Natoma at Sacramento, Calif.

The Bulldogs finished the 2,000 meters in 6 minutes, 15.51 seconds, trailing Princeton (6:09.58) and George Washington (6:15.33) in the semifinal.

GU will race in today’s Third Level Final and can finish a school-best 13th to 18th place in the nation.

GU’s second varsity 8+ and freshman 8+, will also race today in Third Level finals.

Soccer

John Prugh scored at 72 minutes and the Spokane Spiders (2-7) snapped a five-match losing streak with a 1-0 win over the Yakima Reds (1-5) in Premier Development League play at Greyhound Park.

The Spiders were outscored 18-2 in their last five matches.

Women’s basketball

GU sophomore Janelle Bekkering has been named to the Canadian Senior Women’s National Team, a first for a Bulldogs player.

Bekkering, a 6-foot-1 forward, and 11 others made the squad, which will play exhibitions in China and Cuba before competing in the eight-team FIBA Americas Championships in Brazil.

Prep softball

Rob Kuehn, who assisted North Central this year, has been named head coach.

He replaces Herm Marshall, who retires at the end of the school year.

“I’ve wanted my own program for a while now,” said Kuehn, a 1994 NC graduate.

He has taught four years at the school and assisted Scott Harmon in baseball for five years before moving to softball.

Kuehn played baseball at NC and Wenatchee Valley College, graduating from Eastern Washington in 2004.

He said Marshall let him have coaching input this year on a team that made its fifth consecutive appearance in the State 3A tournament.