A Grip on Sports: It’s time to make championship history for Gonzaga and WSU women
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Championship memories. They are something the Gonzaga and Washington State women’s basketball team will try to build over the next couple weeks. And something we have from 46 years ago. If you enjoy cross country running, you won’t want to miss today’s reminiscences.
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• Before we hop into the Wayback Machine, let’s look back less than 24 hours. When the Bulldogs and Cougars sat, watching ESPN and waiting to see their NCAA matchup.
There was less tension at Gonzaga, as the Bulldogs had already clinched their spot in the women’s tournament. All they were waiting on was seed, opponent and path, three pretty important parts of any NCAA Tournament run.
They found out. A No. 5 seed. A 20-5 Belmont team, the pride of Nashville and the only NCAA representative of a school that produced a men’s team that won as many games as the GU men. The Zags are in the Mercado Region – the tournament’s four regions are named after San Antonio-area landmarks – which features top-seed North Carolina State.
After the short celebration ended, it was back to work.
Down U.S. 95 in Pullman, the Washington State women didn’t have the same certainty. After all, the school hadn’t sent a representative to the NCAA Tournament since 1991, which is ancient history to anyone connected to the program. Heck, it’s ancient history to anyone under 30.
Besides, though the Cougars had finished in the middle of the tough Pac-12, had upset No. 7 Arizona and No. 8 UCLA, defeated Oregon State twice and given everybody except their nemesis, Stanford, fits, they still weren’t sure they wouldn’t be passed over.
At least that notion was dissuaded quickly. As Theo Lawson relates in his story, it only took 40 seconds of the selection show for the Washington State logo to appear. The Cougars are a ninth seed, also in the Mercado Region, and will face the eight seed, South Florida, on Sunday.
After 30 years, the wait is over.
• OK, we’ll call your 30 years and raise you 16 more.
When I sat down for an early lunch (or a late breakfast, whatever you prefer) yesterday and turned on the kitchen TV, ESPNU happened to be on. And the NCAA cross country championship race was about to be run.
All of a sudden I was 19 again. The memories came flooding back. Memories of the 1975 NCAA Division II cross country championship race. And the rest of that Saturday.
That year I shared a dorm suite with a couple members of the UC Irvine cross country team. The Anteaters were favored to win the title, something they had never done before. And it was being held right down the road, at Irvine Coast Country Club in Newport Beach. Our entire suite decided to go and cheer on others who lived in our Cuesta dorm, including Steve Scott, who would go on to become America’s best miler, and the guy who lived one door down from yours truly, Ed Ahlmeyer.
The golf course was beautiful that mid-November day, featuring 70 degrees and sunny weather, along with bright green grass and runners sporting every color in the Crayola pack. The Irvine crew wore blue and gold and were easy to spot, even in the early pack. The group I was with was loud, boisterous really, quite possibly fueled by something the runners loved to indulge in after their long workouts were done.
We already had reserved the dorm’s common room for a post-race celebration that Saturday night and some of the group had started early. Which made the jogs around the course to cheer harder than they should have been.
Being troopers, we made it. As the race neared the end, there was a group of about a dozen racers, including a trio of Irvine runners, in the lead pack. The pack went behind a hill, away from view and entered a grove of trees. We raced to another small hill where we could see the group emerge not far from the finish. We waited. And waited. And then Ralph Serna, the wonder-kid, a freshman from Loara High, just up the road in Anaheim, appeared. He was all alone. It seemed forever before another runner emerged. Then another. Then Scott, like our cheering group, a sophomore. And before too long another freshman Anteater, Brian Hunsaker. Sophomore Robert Slick popped out in short order, which meant UCI was almost a lock to win. All that was needed was that all-important fifth runner. Where was Ed? Actually, just seconds late he appeared, tall and lanky – he was an excellent golfer with a long, smooth swing – and all smiles, despite the strain of the race. He would clinch UC Irvine’s first cross country title.
And he would hoist a toast as “Yellow Submarine,” featuring the Cuesta singers (we dubbed in our voices as backup on a reel-to-reel as part of the celebration) played that night. It was a night I knew, even then, I would always remember. A night of camaraderie.
Though our group’s running was limited in nature, we felt as if we had a part in the win. And when Ed, slurring his words a little bit, told me that night he heard my voice at one point and thanked me for the support, I felt as if I played a part in the title run.
• By the way, for a while early on in yesterday’s men’s race, won by Northern Arizona again, Gonzaga’s team was listed among the leaders, as high as third at one point. The Bulldogs faded, however, and finished 27th.
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Gonzaga: The Zag men are favored to win the title. They went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the nation. Jim Meehan has that story. … The Zag women are not a title favorite. But that doesn’t matter on selection day, as Jim Allen relates in this story. … Their opponent, Belmont, are on a roll. Jim has more. … Men’s assistant Tommy Lloyd isn’t the only one in his family in the NCAA tourney. Son Liam, a G-Prep graduate, is also in with Grand Canyon. Jim Meehan has more in this feature. … Jim also joined Larry Weir for his usual Monday appearance on the Press Box podcast. … We meant to link this New York Post story yesterday and somehow forgot. Though it’s another telling of how Gonzaga became Gonzaga, it’s still well worth your time. … This year’s Gonzaga team’s closest comp is last year’s team. … Elsewhere in the West Coast Conference, the BYU women didn’t think they would join the Bulldogs in the tournament. But the Cougars heard their name called. … The Cougar men are ready to do whatever is needed in Indianapolis.
WSU: The Cougars were jumping for joy after the logo appeared on the TV screen. Theo Lawson was there and has this story on their reaction to making the tournament. … John Blanchette not only talked with current WSU players for his column, he talked with some of the members of the 1991 squad, the only other Washington State women’s team to play in the NCAAs. … Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, Stanford leads a strong conference contingent in the NCAA, which includes Arizona, UCLA, Oregon State and Oregon. … The Washington women had an awful year. The school fired coach Jody Wynn yesterday. … On the men’s side of things, Jon Wilner’s latest power ranking includes an interesting comment about Washington State. If you can’t read it, here is what it says: “We are quite confident the Cougars won’t be anywhere near the 10th position in these power ratings a year from now. They might even be in the top four.” … UCLA is back in training defensively as the tourney prep begins. … USC and Evan Mobley still don’t know whom they will play. … The NCAA tourney will be a balancing act for Colorado. … Utah didn’t make the tournament and now is losing two bench players. … … In football news, Utah has begun spring practice and, as always, quarterback is the biggest question mark. … Arizona State is trying to figure out its wide receiver options.
EWU: This weekend’s matchup with Kansas isn’t the first time Eastern has faced the Jayhawks. Ryan Collingwood talked with some participants of the game in Lawrence in 2007 for this story. … Former Eastern football star Samson Ebukam is leaving the Rams. Moving. All the way to San Francisco. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana is trying to settle on a quarterback this spring.
Preps: Dave Nichols put together a roundup of Monday’s action.
Mariners: We’re about halfway through spring training. It’s time for some thoughts and time to answer some questions. … James Paxton was scratched yesterday. Not an injury but work visa issues.
Seahawks: Free agency hit hard yesterday. The Seahawks were observers, not participants. Huh. …They did lose Carlos Hyde and will probably lose Chris Carson. … They are supposedly after Leonard Fournette as a replacement. Will that help the pass protection? … There are also rumors out there about their interest in Sam Darnold. Really? Hey, he could be the next Charlie Whitehurst. Or Matt Flynn.
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• UC Irvine won another Division II cross country title in 1976, though the race was held in Illinois and we didn’t attend. After that, UCI moved up to Division I. A couple of Irvine runners ran in the 1977 race at the Hangman Valley golf course. Talk about connections. Also, in the picture of the Irvine team I posted above, I cannot confirm or deny the guy on the right without a shirt is me. May or may not be. The hair looks familiar. Until later …