Gonzaga rowers earn NCAA berth
The Gonzaga women’s rowing team edged San Diego by four points and claimed its 13th West Coast Conference Championship Saturday in Gold River, Calif.
The win snapped the Toreros’ three-year reign and gave GU its first crown since 2009. It also earned the Bulldogs a berth to the NCAA Championship.
San Diego edged Gonzaga by 1.9 seconds in the varsity four race, but Gonzaga responded with wins in the varsity eight I and varsity eight II races.
GU head coach Glenn Putyrae was named WCC Coach of the Year and GU’s Madison Keaty was named Rower of the Year.
GU’s Christine Powers, Malori McGill and Naomi Medley joined Keaty on the all-conference team.
The Bulldogs will be making their first appearance at the NCAA Championship May 31-June 2 at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis.
Softball
Community Colleges of Spokane stayed alive with two wins at the NWAACC Championships at Delta Park in Portland.
The Sasquatch (29-17) beat Grays Harbor (18-22) and Centralia (20-16) and were tied with Douglas at 1 before rain caused a suspension. The game will be resumed today.
CCS opened with a 9-8 win over Grays Harbor. The Sasquatch scored three runs in the sixth to regain control. Megan Skillingstad had a two-run single in the inning to lead the rally.
The Sasquatch had an easier time in their next game, beating Centralia 11-2. CCS scored eight runs in the first two innings.
Breann Warren had two hits, including a home run, and drove in three runs in the victory for the Sasquatch.
• Kaitlin Inglesby shut down Hawaii and Washington edged the Rainbow Wahine (45-12) 2-0 in an NCAA regional game at Husky Softball Stadium in Seattle.
The win earned the Huskies (40-15) a spot in today’s championship game. They will play Hawaii again. Hawaii avoided elimination with a 3-0 win over Minnesota.
Hawaii will need to beat Washington twice today to advance to Super Regionals.
Inglesby allowed two hits and a walk while striking out nine in seven innings. She improved to 22-7 on the season.
Runs were hard to come by for both teams. Washington put two on the board in the sixth thanks to RBI-hits from Kylee Lahners and Jennie McNeill.
Men’s golf
Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan shot a 67 for the third straight day to claim medalist honors at 201 and the Huskies took second place at the NCAA Regional at Golden Eagle Golf and Country Club in Tallahassee, Fla. Pan won by three strokes.
The second-place finish earned Washington a spot in the NCAA Championships May 28-June 2 at the Capital City Club in Atlanta.
It was the third time in the past four years that a Husky golfer claimed the individual title. Chris Williams (Moscow, Idaho) won last year and current PGA Tour player Richard Lee won in 2010.
Williams shot a 71 in the final round and finished tied for 14th at 6-under 210. UW’s Charlie Hughes, thanks to a 65 in the second round, also finished tied for 14th.
North Florida edged Washington by three strokes for the team title.
The Huskies will be making their 10th trip to the NCAA Championships in 12 years under head coach Matt Thurmond.
• California used its dominating first-round performance to propel it to the team title at an NCAA regional at Palouse Ridge Golf Course in Pullman. The Bears finished with a three-round score of 821, winning by 20 strokes.
The Golden Bears’ Michael Weaver and Southern California’s Sam Smith both finished at 14-under 202 and shared medalist honors.
California, Texas-Christian, Saint Mary’s, Southern California and Ball State earned berths to the NCAA Championships.
Ball State won a tiebreaker over San Diego State for fifth place. Ball State’s Alex Stinson made a 1-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole after being in the bunker on his third shot.