WSU gets ready for Oklahoma State

Posted by Daily Evergreen Sports on September 1st, 2010 under General Sports  •  No Comments

With fall camp behind them, the WSU football team participated in its final full speed practice before the Saturday showdown with Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.
The Cougars spent the majority of practice fine tuning certain things before the game with the Cowboys and Head Coach Paul Wulff said the team is ready to play a new opponent.
“We got some things done today, and I think we’re really ready to play somebody else, I know that,” Wulff said.
The first team offense and defense spent most of their time working against the scout team to get a look at some Oklahoma State schemes. Both units showed polish; with sophomore quarterback Jeff Tuel connecting with all sorts of receivers for touchdowns and several defenders pulling down interceptions.
“I was real happy,” Tuel said. “We had team here, I think it was like the first four plays we came out and had big plays or scored. I think we’re starting to execute really well.”
Tuel connected with senior receiver Daniel Blackledge for touchdowns twice and found junior receiver Jared Karstetter for two more scores.
“I feel like we’ve had this all camp,” Tuel said. “It’s just cleaning things up and polishing it. But I feel real good about those guys (Blackledge and Karstetter) and all the receivers actually.”
Redshirt sophomore tight end Andrei Lintz and freshman receiver Marquess Wilson shared the catch of the day honors. Lintz dove for a touchdown reception in the middle of the endzone, while Wilson made a leaping touchdown snag on a pass that looked as if it would carry over his head and out of the back of the endzone.
On defense, junior middle linebacker Mike Ledgerwood said he wasn’t particularly pleased with the defense Wednesday, but said the unit will be ready Saturday.
“We didn’t come out ready to go today, especially the linebackers,” Ledgerwood said. “I don’t know what it was about today or whatever, but I know for sure we’re going to come out running … Saturday.”
Ledgerwood did credit the defense for forcing turnovers.
“We have defensive goals that we have and we want about three turnovers every game, every practice,” Ledgerwood said. “Wherever we go that’s our goal.”
Redshirt freshman cornerback Nolan Washington has been nursing a hip injury, but made it out to practice for the last two practices. Washington is listed as a starter on the depth chart and Wulff said he expects him to be ready to play the Cowboys.
“He’s gotten through the last two days, and I think he feels pretty good so, you know, he’s going to play,” Wulff said. “He’ll probably end up starting, but there’s no question Anthony Carpenter is going to play a tremendous amount if he doesn’t start.”
The Cougars have one final practice in Pullman Thursday before they make their trip to Oklahoma. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m., and the game will be televised on FSN.

Kevin Tucker earns All-Pac-10 Honors

Posted by bgleason on May 3rd, 2010 under General Sports  •  No Comments

Courtesy Washington State University Sports Information – Men’s Golf

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State men’s golf senior Kevin Tucker was named All-Pacific-10 Conference Second Team, conference commissioner Larry Scott announced Monday.

The Kennewick, Wash., native started the season with a win at the Palouse Collegiate with a three-round total of 208 (-6), the lowest of his career. Tucker was able to notch 10 top-25 finishes during the regular season, fourth-most in WSU single-season history. He also tallied a scoring average of 71.71, the best in school history.

The 2009-10 reason season adds to an already stellar career for the Cougar great. Tucker holds the WSU career scoring record with a mark of 73.31, and his 26-career top-25 finishes and nine-career top-10 finishes rank third and fifth in the school record book, respectively.

Tucker he garnered honorable mention honors following the 2008-09 season, and is the first Cougar since Dustin White (2001-03) to earn back-to-back conference honors.

Tucker and his Cougar teammates are waiting to hear if they will be selected for the NCAA Regional championships, May 20-22. The NCAA will release the tournament field Monday, May 10.

Men’s Pac-10 Championship – Final Results

Posted by bgleason on April 29th, 2010 under General Sports  •  No Comments

By Brett Gleason

The following is a short update on the men’s Pac-10 Championships, a full story will be in the Evergreen tomorrow with more information.

Yesterday the men’s golf team completed the 2010 Pac-10 Conference Championships, finishing in tenth place with a four round total of 1,438 (+18), a school record low for this tournament.

WSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: T31. Kevin Tucker (72-73-71-69—285, +1); T36. Trent Sanders (71-73-71-71—286, +2); T46. Nick Ellis (75-71-75-71—292, +8); T46. Nick Grigsby (72-70-77-73—292, +8); T51. Hank Frame (78-74-69-73—294, +10); T54. Austin Hurt (71-76-73-76—296, +12).

TEAM RESULTS: 1. Washington (1383, -35); 2. Stanford (1386, -37); 3. USC (1396, -24); 4. Arizona State (1401, -19); 5. Oregon State (1407, -13); T6. Oregon (1409, -11); T6. California (1409, -11); 8. UCLA (1414, -6); 9. Arizona (1421, +1); 10. Washington State (1438, +18).

TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS: 1. Eric Mina, California (65-68-67-68—268, -16); 2. Jesper Kennegard, Arizona State (63-66-67-73—269, -15); 3. Richard Lee, Washington (64-70-68-68—270, -14); T4. Joseph Bramlett, Stanford (66-66-66-75—273, -11); T4. Gregor Main, UCLA (68-69-64-72—273, -11).

Men’s Pac-10 Championship – Day 1 Results

Posted by bgleason on April 26th, 2010 under General Sports  •  No Comments

By Brett Gleason

Today the men’s golf team competed in the opening two rounds of the Pac-10 Championships in Tempe, Arizona. Play was held at the par-71, 7,057-yard Karsten Golf Course.

After day one the Cougs (722, +12) find themselves sitting in 10th place, 13 strokes behind 9th place Arizona.

Leading the way for WSU on day one was senior Nick Grisby with a one-over-par first round and a one-under second round for a two round total of 142 (E).

Play resumes tomorrow at 9 a.m. You can find live results online at www.golfstat.com and live streaming of the 18th hole at www.pac-10.org.

WSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: T31. Nick Grigsby (72-70—142, E); T40. Trent Sanders (71-73—144, +2); T47. Kevin Tucker (72-73—145, +3) 50. Nick Ellis (75-71—146, +4); T51. Austin Hurt (71-76—147, +5); 59. Hank Frame (78-74—152, +10).

TEAM RESULTS: 1. Stanford (675, -35) 2. Arizona State (688, -22); 3. Southern California (689, -21); 4. Washington (690, -20); 5. UCLA (693, -17); 6. Oregon (703, -7); T7. Oregon State (704, -6); T7. California (704, -6); 9. Arizona (709, -1); 10. Washington State (722, +12).

Women’s Pac-10 Championship – Final Results

Posted by bgleason on April 22nd, 2010 under General Sports  •  No Comments

By Brett Gleason

The following is a short update on the final results for the women’s golf Pac-10 Championships. A full story will be run in the Evergreen soon.

WSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: T34. Emma Betland (81-79-76—236, +20), T38. Allison Travis (76-83-82—241, +25), T41. Kristen Allard (79-84-81—244, +28), T43. Ali Thompson (81-89-79—249, +33), T43. Ellen Park (83-84-82—249, +33).

TEAM RESULTS: 1. Arizona (293-297-288—878, +14), 2. UCLA (289-298-294—881, +17), 3. Oregon (292-307-290—889, +25), 4. USC (284-318-289—891, +27), 5. Washington (296-314-296—906, +42), 6. California (287-305-317—909, +45), 7. Stanford (301-316-311—928, +64), 8. Washington State (317-330-318—965, +101), 9. Oregon State (317-329-321—967, +103), 10. Arizona State (283-D-D—DNF)

TOP-5 PERFORMERS: T1. Carlota Ciganda, Arizona State (71-72-71—214, -2), T1. Juliana Murcia, Arizona State (68-77-69—214, -2), T3. Kendra Little, Oregon (72-75-72—219, +3), T3. Tiffany Lua, UCLA (73-72-74—219, +3), T3. Margarita Ramos, Arizona (76-71-72—219, +3), T3. Jennifer Song, USC (70-76-73—219, +3), T3. Jaclyn Sweeney, Arizona State (72-75-72—219, +3).

Women’s Pac-10 Championship – Day 2 Results

Posted by bgleason on April 20th, 2010 under General Sports  •  No Comments

By Brett Gleason

The women’s golf team now has two rounds of play completed at the Pac-1o championships in Eugene, Oregon. On day two the Cougs were able to hold their 9th place position, and are only one stroke back Oregon State (317-329—646, +70). The teams two day total at the par-72, 6,203-yard Eugene Country Club is (317-330—647, +71).

In a weird twist, number two ranked Arizona State was disqualified from the second round of play due to two of their players not being able to compete because of illnesses, dropping ASU into 10th place.

The tournament will conclude Wednesday (April 21) with tee times starting at 8 a.m.

WSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: T35. Allison Travis (76-83—159, +15), T38. Emma Betland (81-79—160, +16), 42. Kristen Allard (79-84—163, +19), 44. Ellen Park (83-84—167, +23), 46. Ali Thompson (81-89—170, +26).

TEAM RESULTS: 1. UCLA (289-298—587, +11), 2. Arizona (293-297—590, +14), 3. California (287-305—592, +16) 4. Southern California (284-310—594, +18), 5. Oregon (292-307—599, +23), 6. Washington (296-314—610, +34), 7. Stanford (301-316—617, +41), 8. Oregon State (317-329—646, +70), 9. Washington State (317-330—647, +71), 10. Arizona State (283-D—DNF)

Women’s Pac-10 Championships – Day 1 Results

Posted by bgleason on April 19th, 2010 under General Sports  •  No Comments

By Brett Gleason

With one round of play in the books at the Pac-10 Championships in Eugene, Oregon the WSU women’s golf team finds themselves in a tie for ninth place. The Cougs shot a 317 (+29) at the ar-72, 6,203 yard Eugene Country Club.

Leading the team after round one is redshirt junior Allison Travis, with a 76 (+4).

Freshmen Ali Thompson and Emma Betland, who are both competing in their first Pac-10 Championships, are tied for 43rd, with first round scores of 81 (+9).

Play will continue Tuesday April 20th with tee times starting at 8:46 a.m.

WSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: T31.  Allison Travis (76, +4), T38.  Kristen Allard (79, +7), T43.  Emma Betland (81, +9), T43.  Ali Thompson (81, +9), T47. Ellen Park (83, +11).

TEAM RESULTS: 1. Arizona State (283, -5), 2. Southern California (284, -4), 3. California (287, -1), 4. UCLA (289, +1), 5. Oregon (292, +4), 6. Arizona (293, +5), 7. Washington (296, +8), 8. Stanford  (301, +13), T9. Washington State (317, +29), T9. Oregon State (317, +29).

Two of three new NCAA football rules are a joke

Posted by bgleason on April 16th, 2010 under General Sports  •  No Comments

By Brett Gleason

Yesterday, the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved three new rule changes to the college football game, two of which are about as annoying and useless as the white stuff that forms in the corners of your mouth when you’re really really thirsty.

Here are the three new rules (year they will be implemented):

  1. Eye black containing messages will be banned (2010).
  2. Wedge blocking on kickoff returns will be banned (2010).
  3. On field taunting prior to a touchdown will draw a live-ball penalty (assessed from the spot of the foul) and elimination of the score (2011).

Number two, I have absolutely no problem with. When the NFL enacted the same rule before the 2009 season many fans were angry, believing it would make it harder for teams to bring back kickoff returns for TD’s which of course are fun to watch. This turned out to be not true, clearly teams found a way around it. Kickoff returns resulting in TD’s:

If the NFL coaches can find a way around not being able to use wedge blocking, so can collegiate coaches. The main reason for this new NCAA ban was: “NCAA studies have shown that 20 percent of all injuries occurring on kickoffs result in concussions.” Perfectly solid reasoning, I fully support this new rule.

The first and third one are where they lose my support.

Lets start with number one, where the NCAA will ban any and all messages written on players eye black. First off, is this really one of the biggest problem the NCAA sees with the game of football? When the majority of the messages are completely harmless (Example 1, Example 2, Example 3) why ban them? Are they worried that all those bible verses and area codes are corrupting our nations youth? I don’t think so. NCAA, let the players express themselves a little.

On to number three, where yet again the NCAA attempts to strip the player of any semblance of creativity on the field. If a player on the way to scoring a TD in any way taunts the opposing teams defense (ex. high-stepping, pointing ball at opponent, etc.) a live-ball penalty will be assessed at the spot of the foul, and the ensuing TD will be eliminated.

Now we all know that college football players aren’t being paid (at least we hope they aren’t), so let’s just assume they’re playing because they love the game and want to have some fun playing.

SO LET THEM HAVE SOME FUN!

If they broke away from the defense and have some time to spare, let them improvise a little. High-step, call out other players, do a cartwheel for all I care, they earned the right to do that.

“But Brett! Bad sportsmanship is ruining the game! These kids need to show respect for their fellow athletes!”

Forget that, if the defenders want respect shown to them from the offensive playmakers, earn their respect! Make a tackle, don’t let them score! It really is that simple, do you job.

I hope next year, a kickoff returner comes out from behind a non-wedge style block, wearing eye black that says “Suck It NCAA” breaks away from the pack and does a back handspring into the end zone.

U.S. Intercollegiate – Day 1/2 Results

Posted by bgleason on April 13th, 2010 under General Sports  •  No Comments

By Brett Gleason

On Sunday, the men’s golf team began play at the U.S. Intercollegiate tournament in Stanford, California. After play was halted on Sunday due to weather, the first round was completed on Monday morning before second round play began on the par-70, 6,727-yard Stanford Golf Course.

The final round of play begins today at 7:30 a.m. Live scoring can be found at www.golfstat.com.

WSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: T32. Kevin Tucker (71-73—144, +74); T55. Nick Ellis (73-76—149, +9); T71. Hank Frame (77-74—151, +11); T88. Austin Hurt (76-79—155, +15); T95. Trent Sanders (83-75—158, +18).

TEAM RESULTS: T1. Washington (562, +2); T1. San Diego State (562, +2); 3. Oregon (563, +3); 4. Southern California (564, +4); 5. UCLA (566, +6); 6. San Jose State (573, +13); 7. Oregon State (575, +15); 8. Pepperdine (576, +16); 9. Stanford (577, +17); 10. Arizona State (581, +21); 11. California (585, +25); 12. UC-Irvine (586, +26); 13. San Francisco (587, +27); 14. Lamar (594, +34); T15. Washington State (595, +35); T15. Long Beach State (595, +35); 17. Fresno State (597, +37); T18. UC Davis (600, +40); T18. Denver (600, +40); 20. Hawaii (625, +65).

Ping ASU Invitational – Final Results

Posted by bgleason on April 12th, 2010 under General Sports  •  No Comments

By Brett Gleason

Friday through Sunday the women’s golf team competed in the Ping ASU Invitational in Tempe, Arizona. The Cougs posted a 320 (+32) in the final day of the tournament at the par-72, 6,230 yard Karsten Golf Course to finish with a tournament total of 933 (+69) and finish in 17th place.

For the third time this spring half of the season, freshman Emma Betland led the Cougars. Shooting a 79 (+7)  on the final day of play with a tournament total of 230 (+14), Betland finished the tournament in 64th individually.

Rounding out the card for the Cougs were: freshman Ali Thompson (78-74-80—232, +16), sophomore Kristen Allard (78-76-79—233, +17), junior Allison Travis (76-80-90—246, +30), and freshman Ellen Park (82-87-82—251, +35).

This was the final regular season tournament for the Cougars, who will be now heading to the Pac-10 Championships on April 19th.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 64. Emma Betland (76-75-79—230, +14), T72. Ali Thompson (78-74-80—232, +16), T75. Kristen Allard (78-76-79—233, +17) 88. Allison Travis (76-80-90—246, +30) 89. Ellen Park (82-87-82—251, +35).

TEAM RESULTS: 1. UCLA (291-286-279—856, -8), 2. Arizona State (279-286-292—857, -7), 3. Southern California (281-290-287—858, -6), 4. New Mexico (291-294-278—863, -1), 5. Purdue (287-295-282—864, E), 6. Denver (291-286-288—865, +1), 7. Arizona (292-289-287—868, +4), 8. Alabama, (291-295-288—874, +10), 9. Oklahoma State (292-292-291—875, +11), 10. Stanford (297-291-288—876, +12), 11. Texas (299-297-291—887, +23), 12 Pepperdine (295-298-296—889, +25), 13. California (296-303-296—895, +31), 14. Tulsa (306-293-304—903, +39), 15. San Jose State (301-306-297—904, +40), 16. Washington (302-300-311—913, +49), 17. Washington State (308-305-320—933, +69).