Northwest Notes: Aug. 2, 2022

North Idaho Shootout

set for September

The North Idaho Shootout pickleball tournament will be held Sept. 9-11 at the Peak Health and Wellness Center in Hayden.

Women's doubles will be played on Friday, Sept. 9, mixed doubles on Saturday, Sept. 10 and men's doubles on Sunday, Sept. 11.

Early registration is ongoing through Aug. 17.

Final registration is Aug. 31.

Register at www.pickleballtournaments.com.

Information: Kathy 360-737-4913.

Eastern to open fall

practice on Saturday

With just 33 days to go until its home opener, the Eastern Washington football team will come together and open fall camp this week.

The team will begin practices this week on the Eastern Washington University Sports and Recreation practice fields in Cheney. Eastern's rookies report today and have two days of orientation capped by newcomer-only practices on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, the entire team will gather for the first official full-team practice which begins at 9:15 a.m.

The Eagles open the season against Tennessee State on Sept. 3 at Roos Field in Cheney. Eastern will utilize the practice fields until moving over to Roos Field on Aug. 18.

Eastern will scrimmage twice before the team's season opener. The first scrimmage of preseason camp takes place on Friday, Aug. 19 at approximately 3 p.m. at Roos Field. The second and final scrimmage will also be held at Roos Field on Friday, Aug. 26, at approximately 1 p.m.

Cougars to face Baylor

in Coast-to-Coast Challenge

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State's men's basketball will play Baylor as part of a quadruple-header in the second-annual Pac-12 US LBM Coast-to-Coast Challenge, Sunday, Dec. 18, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, the Pac-12 Conference announced Monday.

The matchup between the Cougars and the Bears is tentatively scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2. The game will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the programs, with WSU holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. The sides most recently met in the 2010 Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the Cougs beat Baylor 77-71.

“Playing Baylor this season gives us an incredible opportunity to see where our program rates against one of the best programs in the country,” WSU coach Kyle Smith said. “Baylor has championship DNA and NBA talent all over their roster. It’s a testament to the growth of our program that we are even considered for the event.”

In total, the Pac-12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge will feature four games, two men’s and two women’s matchups, split over two sessions at the home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, NHL’s Dallas Stars, and the site of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Final Four.

The other three matchups of the Coast-to-Coast Challenge start with the morning session, featuring Stanford men’s basketball against Texas in the first game of the day at 10 a.m., followed by USC’s against the Texas women at approximately 12:30 p.m. In the evening session, Arizona will face the Baylor women at 4:30 p.m.

Washington State's Samarzich named

to Mannelly Award Watch List

Washington State long snapper Simon Samarzich was named to The Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List, Bernies Book Bank announced.

The Patrick Mannelly Award is presented annually to the overall best long snapper at the Division I FBS level in college football. Samarzich is the first Cougar to be named to The Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List in program history.

Samarzich started all 13 games as the long snapper on punt last season and recorded three tackles including two against USC and one in the win over Arizona. The fourth-year junior from Upland, Calif. is a two-time Pac-12 Conference Fall Honor Roll selection.

The winner must be of senior standing, have started 75% of games in his senior year, snap on punts and placements, and demonstrate a strong mentality, notable athleticism, as well as speed, accuracy and consistency in their snaps.

In 2019, The Patrick Mannelly Award had its inaugural award dinner held at Bernie’s Book Bank in Lake Bluff, Ill.

Former Coug Meyer signs

with Colorado Rockies

Washington State catcher Jake Meyer signed a free agent contract with the Colorado Rockies Monday.

Meyer was a two-time Pac-12 Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll selection and a three-year starter behind the plate for the Cougars, appearing in 101 games with a .266 career batting average, 20 doubles, six home runs, 44 RBI and 49 runs scored.

The Scottsdale, Ariz., native arrived at WSU after redshirting the 2018 season at Arizona and starting on the 2019 Junior College National Champion Central Arizona team. In 2020, Meyer hit .314 in the shortened season, in 2021 Meyer earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention after hitting .281 with 13 doubles a 22 RBI and this past season Meyer recorded six doubles, three home runs and seven multiple-hit games.