Northwest Notes June 18, 2021
WCC announces 2021-22 men’s basketball conference matchups
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Gonzaga will play Portland just once, at home, and San Diego just once, on the road, as the West Coast Conference announced the 16 conference matchups for each of its 10 men's basketball teams for the 2021-22 season.
The Zags will play the other seven teams twice, home and away.
This is the fourth season the WCC will play a 16-game schedule after changes adopted by the WCC Presidents' Council as part of the conference's Men's Basketball Enhancement Plan prior to the start of the 2018-19 season.
The matchups detailed below designate the 16-game home and away opponents for the upcoming season based on a conference formula including the 2019-20 and 2020-21 team NET rankings, last year's WCC tournament seedings, and a spring survey of the league's 10 head coaches.
San Diego and Portland were picked to finish ninth, and 10th, respectively, in the league.
The WCC men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are scheduled for March 3-8 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
In the spring survey, Gonzaga was picked to win the WCC this coming season, followed by BYU, Saint Mary's, Loyola Marymount, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, Pacific, San Diego and Portland.
The scheduling matchups for West Coast Conference men's basketball do not impact the women's basketball schedule, which will continue the traditional 18-game, double round-robin league slate in 2021-22.
The regular-season WCC matchups for the 2021-22 season follow. Conference play begins Thursday, Dec. 301. Specific dates and times for each game will be announced later this summer after the conference's league schedule is finalized.
GONZAGA
Home/Road: BYU, LMU, Pacific, Pepperdine, Saint Mary's, San Francisco, Santa Clara
Home: Portland
Road: San Diego
BYU
Home/Road: Gonzaga, LMU, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Francisco
Home: San Diego
Road: Santa Clara
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
Home/Road: BYU, Gonzaga, Pacific, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, Santa Clara
Home: Pepperdine
Road: San Francisco
PACIFIC
Home/Road: BYU, Gonzaga, LMU, Pepperdine, Portland, San Diego, Santa Clara
Home: San Francisco
Road: Saint Mary’s
PEPPERDINE
Home/Road: BYU, Gonzaga, Pacific, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco
Home: Santa Clara
Road: LMU
PORTLAND
Home/Road: BYU, LMU, Pacific, Pepperdine, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara
Home: Saint Mary’s
Road: Gonzaga
SAINT MARY'S
Home/Road: BYU, Gonzaga, LMU, Pepperdine, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara
Home: Pacific
Road: Portland
SAN DIEGO
Home/Road: LMU, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Santa Clara
Home: Gonzaga
Road: BYU
SAN FRANCISCO
Home/Road: BYU, Gonzaga, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, Santa Clara
Home: LMU
Road: Pacific
SANTA CLARA
Home/Road: Gonzaga, LMU, Pacific, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco
Home: BYU
Road: Pepperdine
Grove ties for 11th at Oregon Open
SISTERS, Ore. — Russell Grove, the North Idaho College men’s and women’s golf coach, finished tied for 11th at the Oregon Open Invitational that concluded Thursday at Black Butte Ranch.
Grove, the 2017 champion, shot 70-70-71—211, 5 under par. Amateur Kennedy Swann of Tokatee Golf Club in McKenzie Bridge, Ore., shot a 71-65-69—205, 11 under par, to win by two strokes.
Amateur Reid Hatley of the Hayden Lake Country Club finished tied for 16th. Hatley, the 2019 champ, 71-72-70—213, 3 under par.
Mariners to lift seating restrictions for home games in two weeks
With the state of Washington on track to lift all COVID-19 restrictions on June 30, the Seattle Mariners announced Thursday they will open up all seating for home games for the remainder of the season.
The "re-opening" will start with July 2 game vs. the Texas Rangers.
Fans will no longer have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for entry into T-Mobile Park. Masks will not be required for fans, but the Mariners are recommending that unvaccinated fans wear them.
Tickets will be available for the remainder of the 2021 season. All tickets will be in a full capacity format. No socially distanced pods will be available.
No printed tickets will be available. All tickets will be digital in order to reduce contact and opportunities for cross contamination between fans and staff. Information about digital tickets is available at Mariners.com/DigitalTickets.
Following the guidelines set by the state and county, the Mariners had already opened up T-Mobile Park to allow ticket sales of more than 30,000 fans per game with vaccinated sections and social distancing pods for this current homestand.
Spokane to host USA Karate nationals
Spokane has been selected to host the 2022 USA Karate National Championships June 30–July 3.
It’s the first time Spokane will host USA Karate for a major competition, and one of the first martial arts events to be held inside Spokane’s newest sports facility, The Podium.
This event will bring 2,000 of the nation’s top karate athletes to Spokane for the four-day championships. Along with the athletes, 2,500 spectators are expected and 3,000 overnight hotels stays will be generated by this event. More than $4 million dollars will be generated in Spokane by visitor spending during the competition.
The USA Karate National Championships have never been held in Spokane, however the Lilac City has hosted martial arts events in the past, including the 2018 USA Judo Junior Olympic National And International Championships and the 2018 Pan American Taekwondo Championships.
COVID-19 caused the cancellation of the 2020 USA Karate National Championships and Team Trials, scheduled for Spokane last July. The 2022 National Championships will select the Junior National Team for the Junior Pan American Championships and Junior World Championships. This championship will also select the pool of athletes for the Senior National team trials.
Karate is making its Olympic debut this summer in Tokyo. Eighty karate athletes will compete from around the world, including three American athletes.