Northwest Notes: Aug. 1, 2021
Raja wins men’s amateur
at The Idaho Club
SANDPOINT — Alfred Raja of Corvallis, Ore. won the 119th Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship with a 2&1 victory over Jordan Lee of Auburn, Wash. in today’s 36-hole final match at The Idaho Club.
The championship began with 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying on July 26-27, followed by 18-hole single elimination match play July 28-30, concluding with a 36-hole final match on Saturday, July 31.
In the morning round, Raja got hot early and jumped out to a quick lead going 2 up through nine and 5 up after the morning 18. The highlight of the morning came on the par-5 ninth hole when Alfred’s third shot landed just behind the pin, spun back and rolled into the hole for an eagle.
In the afternoon, Raja started to show some signs of weakness and Lee began to mount a comeback. Lee won five of the first ten holes this afternoon to cut the deficit to just one. However, the effort came up just short as Raja won three of the last six holes to hold onto the victory.
“It’s been a real long week,” Raja said. “I honestly didn’t know that I was going to make it this far, but being able to win the whole thing is pretty unbelievable for me.”
When asked about how it feels to have his name on the same trophy as past champions like Tiger Woods, Raja said, “It’s a great honor for me and it feels like my hard work has paid off.”
Raja, originally from Indonesia, is a rising sophomore on at Oregon State. Earlier this month he made the Round of 16 at the Oregon Amateur.
Lee is a rising junior at Western Washington. Earlier this month, he placed second in the Washington Men’s Amateur Championship and finished fifth at the Rosauers Open.
Cougar men’s basketball
sets early season schedule
With the new year on the horizon Washington State men’s basketball’s 2021-22 schedule has begun to come into focus with the release of the Cougars’ early season schedule. WSU will play 11 non-conference contests with 10 home dates including a return to Spokane Arena for a pair of games before heading into the meat of their Pac-12 schedule. In addition to 11 non-conference games, the Cougs will play a pair of early season conference contests announced prior by the Pac-12 office as part of the league’s 20-game schedule design.
The new season tips-off for the Cougs Nov. 9 at Beasley Coliseum with Alcorn State as the Braves make the long trek across the country to open things up. The matchup will mark just the second meeting between the two teams and first in 30-years after playing once in 1991 in a game the Cougs won 119-81. The 119 points is the third most points scored in a single game by WSU.
After opening the season with a cross-country foe, the Cougs look across the state as Seattle U comes to Pullman, Nov. 12, to battle it out for the fourth time in five seasons. The Redhawks last came to Pullman in 2019 to begin the Kyle Smith era at Washington State with the Cougs prevailing 85-54 in their new head coach’s debut game. Overall, the Cougs have won two of the last three in the recent running of the rivalry, taking both games at home on the Palouse.
Boise State beefing up
phone service at Albertsons Stadium
In an effort to improve the fan experience at Albertsons Stadium, Boise State Athletics partnered with Verizon to install a new cellular distributed antenna system (DAS) that will be unveiled for the 2021 season, director of athletics Jeramiah Dickey announced Friday.
The DAS will improve cellular coverage in and around Albertsons Stadium on game days.
“There is no detail too small as we evaluate the game day experience for Bronco Nation,” Dickey said. “This new system opens the door for so many touch points – from mobile ticketing to how our fans are able to share and access digital content from Albertsons Stadium while attending our games.
“As we prepare for capacity crowds, and as fans are looking to share their experiences and engage with other members of our fanbase, this will certainly be a noticeable difference to the fan experience.”
The new system will also allow Boise State fans to access the Broncos’ new gameday app, which will officially launch Monday. Additional details will be announced once the app goes live.