State Colleges Report | WWU 3-peat not a surprise

BELLINGHAM — Western Washington's unprecedented three-peat in NCAA Division II women's rowing was almost anticlimactic for captain Lindsay Mann-King .

"This is something we expected of ourselves," said Mann-King, a 2002 graduate of Colville High School who was making her fourth straight national appearance, all in the varsity eight.

"It was really wonderful, but it was our expectation. So, it was a little less climactic. That's not to sound cocky, but we had prepared for this moment all year. We definitely accomplished our goal and that was really awesome ... It was emotional for me because it was my last race."

The Vikings' only senior, a three-time All-American and No. 7 seat in the varsity eight, has had different experiences in all three national triumphs.

"The first one was really emotional because we'd never done it before," she recalled of the 2005 title. "And last year we were a sprinting crew, so that race was really different because we were behind for much of it.

"This year we had worked on being consistent through the whole body of the race ... From the beginning, we felt we were going to be the winning team, and from the 1,000-meter mark on in it was like we had this one."

Western has employed different training techniques during Mann-King's four years.

"Over the last three years, we've really become an endurance crew," she explained. "In the past we've had really strong people, but we weren't training the same.

"This year, we went back to that aerobic base, biking and running. We gained even more strength, but as a crew we weighed 100 pounds less."

Mann-King, who transferred from Seattle University in 2004, will have fond memories of rowing at Western Washington.

"What really sticks out most in my mind are the practices on Lake Samish because it's so beautiful there," she said. "Over the long haul it's just rowing every day with the same people that becomes so special."

Also at WWU

Rowing: Western became the first school in NCAA rowing history in any division to win three straight national titles. For the third straight year, the Vikings scored a perfect 20.

Track and field: Freshman Monika Gruszecki (Meadowdale of Lynnwood) became the third Western athlete to win a national title in the javelin as she took the NCAA II women's title last Saturday with a mark of 145 feet, 8 inches.

Seattle Pacific

Track and field: Freshmen NyEma Sims (Portland, Ore.) and Jessica Pixler (Eastlake of Sammamish) will run the 200 and 1,500 meters, respectively, at the USA Junior National Championships next month.

Rowing: Seven of the rowers in the women's varsity eight which took fifth at the NCAA II Championships are expected back next season. SPU won the petite final.

Seattle U.

Men's soccer: Team members will be at Westlake Center on Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. selling raffle tickets for a Vespa scooter. Proceeds benefit the program.

Swimming: With three swimmers earning first-team Academic All-District last week, 13 SU student-athletes have been honored on the first- or second-team.

Washington

Baseball: Junior third baseman Matt Hague (Kentwood of Covington) is Pac-10 Player of the Week. Hague went 5 for 12 (.417) with a double, two homers and six RBI in three games against California. The honor is the second of Hague's career.

Softball: With a two-game sweep of Alabama at the Super Regional, Washington (40-17) remains unbeaten at Husky Softball Stadium in the postseason with a 16-0 record. The sixth-seeded Huskies open the College Women's World Series against No. 14 DePaul (46-11) Thursday at 10 a.m. in Oklahoma City.

Men's rowing: The Washington men's varsity eight is unbeaten entering this week's IRA Regatta for the first time since 1997. The top-ranked Huskies' shell has wins over five crews now ranked in the top 20, including No. 3 California, No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 8 Stanford. The IRA is Thursday through Saturday on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J. Second-ranked Harvard is also undefeated. The varsity-eight heats are Thursday, with semifinals Friday and final Saturday.

Washington St.

Track and field: A dozen WSU student-athletes will compete in 13 events at the NCAA Division I Championships June 6-9, in Sacramento, Calif. Among them are senior sprinter Jaycee Robertson (Bethel of Graham), junior long-jumper Rickey Moody (Spanaway Lake) and sophomore triple-jumper Moreno Zapata (Curtis of University Place).

Baseball: Junior Jim Murphy (Juanita of Kirkland) finished No. 1 in WSU career putouts with 1,398, and sophomore Ross Humes (Decatur of Federal Way) sits atop the school's season saves list with 12. The Cougars recorded back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1993-94.

Other colleges

Central Washington: Basketball player Nathan Sadewasser (Eastmont of East Wenatchee) is transferring from Wenatchee Valley College.

Eastern Washington: Seniors David Paul (Yelm) and Carolee Gutierrez (Newport in Pend Oreille County) qualified for the NCAA Championships with performances at the West Regionals last weekend. Paul placed fifth in the hammer throw at 213-7, while Gutierrez had a throw of 175-7 in the javelin to finish second.

Evergreen State: Eamon Buell (Shorewood of Shoreline) was one of six recruits announced for men's soccer. The others are: Stevie Laughlin (Lakes of Lakewood), Stevie Sharp and Tony Bohmer-Tapia (both Capital of Olympia), Wenatchee Valley College transfer Matt Stalnick (Skyview of Vancouver) and Kyle Schoales (South Kitsap of Port Orchard).

Gonzaga: The varsity four with coxswain and varsity four without coxswain received two bids to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships Thursday through Saturday on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J.

Northwest: Senior Kjerstein Bailey (Sequim) finished second in the women's marathon in 2:56:18 at the NAIA track championships in Fresno, Calif. Bailey earned NAIA All-American honors. Junior Beth Knudtson (Issaquah) finished 10th in the women's 10,000 meters.

Pacific Lutheran: The Lute Club Golf Tournament is June 22, at Oakbrook Golf & Country Club in Lakewood. Entry fee for the tournament, which benefits the Athletic Department, is $150 per golfer. For information, contact Laurie Turner at 253-535-7361.

Puget Sound: Sophomore Sarah Armstrong (McCall, Idaho) has been named first-team All-American for NCAA III women's rowing.

Saint Martin's: Midfielder Ruben Orozco (Mount Rainier of Des Moines), a former Star Times all-area selection, is one of three Highline Community College players and one of nine men's players overall to sign to play men's soccer. Women's soccer signed 15. Both programs will make the transition from club sports to members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference next fall.

Whitman: Senior tennis player Robbie Munday (Okanogan Falls, B.C.) was named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District at-large team for the second consecutive year.

Whitworth: Sophomore Kory Kemp (Bellevue Christian) placed third in the javelin and freshman Emmanuel Bofa (Emerald Ridge of Puyallup) finished fourth in the 800 meters to post All-American finishes and lead the Pirates men to a tie for 16th place at the NCAA III track championships.

Community colleges: Bellevue won the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges baseball and women's tennis championship. Green River won the men's tennis title. Other spring champions: Spokane, men's and women's track and field and women's golf; Lower Columbia, softball; and Walla Walla men's golf.

Sports information directors

contributed to this notebook.