COUGAR VOLLEYBALL COACH JEN GREENY AND WSU AGREE TO NEW CONTRACT
From WSU Sports Info
PULLMAN -- Washington State University and Head Volleyball Coach Jen
Greeny have agreed to a new contract, Cougars Director of Athletics Pat Chun
announced Friday. The agreement will run through June of 2024.
"We could not be more impressed with the ascension of Cougar
Volleyball under Jen Greeny," said Chun. "She has taken the program
to levels not seen in nearly two decades, and with three-straight NCAA
appearances, including reaching the Round of 16 this past season, Cougar
Volleyball could not be in better hands. We look forward to having Jen and her
staff leading our volleyball program for many years to come."
Greeny led Washington State to their third consecutive NCAA Championship
Tournament appearance, where the Cougars advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the
first time since 2002. WSU earned the No. 16 overall seed in the tournament as
well, which saw the Cougars host the opening two rounds of play inside Bohler
Gym. Washington State defeated defending Big Sky Champions Northern Arizona,
and the University of Tennessee, each in four sets to continue on into the
regional round. The Cougars ultimately fell to No. 1 overall seed and the 2018
NCAA National Champions, Stanford Cardinal inside Maples Pavilion in the Sweet
Sixteen.
Coach Greeny has compiled an overall record of 132-130 in eight seasons
at WSU and 244-154 in 12 seasons as a head coach. She was also named the 2016
Pac-12 Coach of the Year, and led the Cougars this season to its' highest
overall win total (23) since 2002 when WSU recorded 24 total victories.
The 2018 season saw Washington State Volleyball receive numerous awards
upon the conclusion of the regular season, as three student-athletes, Taylor
Mims, McKenna Woodford, and Jocelyn Urias were all selected as AVCA
All-Americans. Associate Head Coach Burdette Greeny was named the Division I
AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year to continue the recognition of WSU. Finally the
Cougars earned four All-Pac-12 selections, three AVCA All-Region picks, six
Pac-12 All-Academic selections, along with Woodford being named to the 2018
Google Cloud Academic All-District 8 team.
"I would like to thank President Schulz, Pat Chun, and Anne McCoy
for their leadership, and for giving me, and my staff the opportunity to
continue to build this program," Greeny said. "I would like to thank
all of our support staff and most importantly the young women who have helped
rebuild this program, and have bought into the vision and fought hard for all
we have achieved."
The Cougars will now get back to work during the spring, and look towards
the 2019 season to continue building to yet another post-season run.
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From WSU Sports Info
Women’s Basketball WASHINGTON STATE (6-6, 1-0)
at #11 Oregon State (10-2, 0-0) | Fri., Jan. 4 | 7 p.m.
Live Stats | WSUCougars.com
Watch | Pac-12 Network (Rich Burk
& Layshia Clarendon)
Listen | WSU IMG Radio Network
OPENING FIVE
> WSU is in for a big test as they head to Corvallis to take on #11
Oregon State for the second of three-straight road games to begin Pac-12 play.
> The Cougars enter the game 6-6 and at .500 for the first time on the
year thanks to back-to-back wins including a 79-76 win at Washington to begin
Pac-12 play last week.
> Borislava Hristova, a Cheryl Miller Watch List nominee, is the
reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week thanks to a 38-point effort at UW. Her 38
points were the third highest total for a Cougar all-time. She is 7th in the
nation in scoring at 23.2 ppg.
> Alexys Swedlund, the program's all-time leader in three-point field
goals, is 16 points shy of 1,000 career points. She will be the 19th Cougar to
reach the mark joining Hristova.
> WSU's big-four of Hristova, Molina, Swedlund, and Kostourkova are
averaging 59.9 ppg or 84% of the Cougars' scoring on the year. Hristova,
Molina, and Swedlund are all averaging double-figures in scoring with Hristova
and Molina in the Pac-12's top-11 in scoring.
GAME INFO - AT OREGON STATE
The Cougars begin the new year on the road as they head to Corvallis,
Ore. to take on No. 11 Oregon State at Gill Coliseum. Friday's game marks the
second game for WSU against a ranked opponent on the year having fallen at then
No. 24 Gonzaga earlier in the season. The Cougs are looking to snap a nine-game
skid against the Beavers with their last win coming in 2015 at Gill Coliseum.
Last season, the Cougars were robbed of an upset at home of the Beavers in a
controversial finish that allowed OSU to escape Pullman with a 63-61 win after
hitting a pair of free throws with .04 seconds remaining in the game.
The game will also mark the first career game for Borislava Hristova at
Gill Coliseum after missing each of the last two chances due to injury.
LAST TIME OUT
WSU began Pac-12 play with a 79-76 road win over rival Washington in the
first half of the Boeing Apple Cup Series. The Cougars led by as much as 16 in
the game before putting down a second half surge by the Huskies. In the
contest, Borislava Hristova put on an offensive clinic as the star forward
scored 38 points on 16-of-24 shooting while Alexys Swedlund and Chanelle Molina
added 16 and 14 points respectively to lead the way to the win.
HRISTOVA NABS PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Playing for the first time in 10 days, Borislava Hristova showed no rust
in her game against the Huskies as the 2019 Cheryl Miller Watch List nominee
came out on blazing and never cooled off to lead the Cougs to the win in the
Pac-12 opener. Torching the Huskies from both inside and out, Hristova put
together one of the best offensive performances in program history, scoring a
career-best 38 points in 37 minutes including scoring a career-best 22 points
in the first half. Her 38 points finished as the third-best scoring effort in
program history, trailing only Jenni Ruff's (1996) 41 and Jeanne Eggart's
(1981, pre-NCAA WBB era) 40. Her 38 points were the second-most by a Pac-12
player on the year and just missed the most points scored against Washington
(40) in Seattle at (Hec Ed at UW’s) American Airlines Arena. Even more
impressively, Hristova made her money from the floor, hitting a record 16 field
goals on just 24 shots (66.7%). From deep, Hristova tied a career best with
four triples on six attempts. She added five rebounds and two assists to her
game totals.
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Probe finds Gesser violated WSU policy
Former
assistant athletic director made unwanted advances to former volleyball player,
university says
By JUSTYNA TOMTAS, Lewiston Trib, Jan 4, 2019
Former Assistant Athletic Director Jason
Gesser violated Washington State University’s sexual harassment and misconduct
policy when he made unwanted advances toward a former WSU volleyball player
during an off-campus event in 2015, a university investigation has concluded.
Former WSU student Alyssa Wold-Bodeau filed
a complaint in September alleging Gesser, a former star Cougar quarterback, persistently
tried to kiss her and allegedly groped her under her dress without her consent
following a Cougar Athletic Fund event in Tumwater, Wash.
One day after Wold-Bodeau filed her
complaint, WSU’s Office for Equal Opportunity launched its investigation into
the matter. The report, dated Oct. 8, was released Wednesday in response to a
Nov. 14 public records request. It came a week after the estimated completion
date, following multiple phone calls and emails to the records office and WSU
officials.
Gesser’s actions were found to be
“sufficiently severe, persistent and pervasive,” according to the report, which
says “the conduct impacted (Wold-Bodeau) emotionally, created a lack of
personal security for her, and created a hostile and offensive environment.”
Gesser resigned from WSU a day after he
learned of the investigation, citing recent circumstances in his private life
that created a distraction for WSU.
During the same time period, another woman
came forward alleging Gesser had exposed himself during a massage in 2015 at
her Moscow-based place of employment. A police report was filed in that case,
but no charges came forth.
When reached by phone Thursday, Gesser, 39,
said he didn’t want to discuss the findings.
“I’m done with this. I’ve been done with it
for a long time and I’m moving forward,” Gesser said.
Phil Weiler, vice president for marketing
and communications at WSU, said in November the investigation’s findings would
be placed into Gesser’s personnel file, which may be accessed by future
potential employers.
Wold-Bodeau told investigators the advances
started at a bar after the fundraiser and later became more persistent in her
car and at her house. She said the incident made her feel “violated,”
“manipulated” and “dirty.”
Wold-Bodeau detailed the events in June
2015 to three individuals, who also were interviewed by investigators. Gesser
declined to participate in the investigation.
Bill Moos, who was director of the WSU
Athletics Department from 2010 to 2017, reportedly was with Gesser and
Wold-Bodeau at the bar prior to the alleged 2015 incident. Moos did not respond
to an interview request from the Office for Equal Opportunity. He now serves as
athletic director at the University of Nebraska.
Wold-Bodeau remained silent for years
because she didn’t want to hurt Gesser’s family, with whom she had become very
close, according to the report. Wold-Bodeau was the family’s former nanny.
But that all changed after the Daily
Evergreen published an article Sept. 13 detailing an investigation into
secondhand sexual misconduct allegations involving Gesser. The investigation
resulted in no findings, but it spurred Wold-Bodeau to file a complaint of her
own.
“She decided that she wanted to report the
incident she experienced to OEO because she did not want (Gesser) to subject
anyone else to harassment or misconduct,” according to the report.
When Wold-Bodeau’s story was first
publicized, she said she received an outpouring of support from others who had
also experienced sexual harassment during the height of the #metoo movement.
“It was affirmation that I was doing the
right thing, and it definitely helped me a lot to get through that first 24
hours because it was a lot for me to relive that over and over again,”
Wold-Bodeau told The Tribune in September. “Having the support is what made it
bearable.”
The report’s only recommendation asks the
Human Resources Services office and Gesser’s former supervisors to review the
findings for possible violations of other WSU policies.
Gesser became the Cougar quarterback in
1999 and led the team to two straight 10-win seasons in 2001-02. He graduated
in 2002 with a degree in broadcast communications. He then played
professionally for six years, and later coached football. He was hired at WSU
in 2013.
Wold-Bodeau resides in Spokane and
graduated from WSU in 2014. She was on the volleyball team but was not a
student at the time of the Cougar Athletic Fund event where she met up with
Gesser in June 2015.
Shortly after Gesser’s resignation,
Wold-Bodeau said she was glad he was no longer employed at the university.
“I ultimately am happy that no other girl
will be hurt from his position of influence,” she said in September.
Gesser seemed to acknowledge Wold-Bodeau in
his resignation letter.
“To the young woman that I made feel
uncomfortable, I respectfully have a different recollection of the situation
you’ve described, but acknowledge that I should never have been in the
situation in the first place, and I apologize,” he said in the letter released
Sept. 18. “I truly never meant to cause you harm.”
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New WSU program opens college’s doors to
those with developmental disabilities
By Maddy Haro and Braden Johnson for Spokane
Spokesman-Review, Thu., Jan. 3, 2019, 9:02 p.m.
PULLMAN – Evan Henniger always felt drawn
to Washington State University.
His parents never thought college would be
a possibility. Evan, 20, was diagnosed with Down syndrome shortly after his
birth, and the prospect of venturing away from home on his own seemed unlikely.
That changed last year when WSU launched a
special education program for college-age students with educational or
developmental disabilities. The Henningers’ wish for Evan suddenly came true.
“You could have knocked us over with a
feather,” Lisa Henniger said. “That has been our dream since the day Evan was
born, and we’ve been lowering our expectations to what we thought was reality
(for Evan) to go to college, and then we found out that this program could
start up. It was truly a dream come true.”
Evan recently finished his first semester
at the university, taking classes and working at an internship on campus. With
the help of his cousin – a graduate student at WSU – Evan has become more
independent than his parents could have imagined.
In just a few months, the Responsibility
Opportunities Advocacy and Respect (ROAR) program has opened a multitude of
opportunities for Evan and three other students in its inaugural class. The
two-year program, which is operated by the College of Education, provides life
skills and health education for students, who can also audit college courses
and work in internships on campus. Participants or their families pay tuition
and fees but are eligible for financial aid.
From casual conversation to a new program
Brenda Barrio, the program’s interim
director and an assistant professor with the College of Education, had long
wanted to develop a special education program on campus.
The majority of students with intellectual
disabilities often struggle to adapt to society after leaving the K-12 system,
Barrio said. Only 14 percent of individuals with intellectual disabilities are
employed in the U.S., she said.
“Most of them are not able to obtain jobs
because there are not enough opportunities, or because they do not have the
skills or training to do so,” Barrio said.
Other four-year universities across the
country already had created similar programs. Barrio believed WSU possessed the
existing infrastructure to mold a suitable curriculum.
“With Pullman being so small, and the
university being so big, and having so many opportunities for internships, we
thought that this was the perfect place to do something like this,” Barrio said.
Because the university was cutting budgets
in many programs, Barrio looked to donors. It took more than a year and a half
of fundraising coupled with university promotions to gather enough funding to
launch the program.
Eventually, ROAR was accredited as a
federally approved Comprehensive Transition Program aimed at providing students
with intellectual disabilities access to either classes on campus, housing or
internships. From there, Barrio got the go-ahead from WSU.
Barrio said the two main goals of the ROAR
program are to allow students to continue their education while living
independently and working toward a career.
For Evan and the three other students
enrolled, this includes going to class, living together in designated apartment
units and possibly participating in internships.
Barrio wants to expand ROAR’s enrollment to
10 students for the fall semester.
“This has honestly been one of the coolest
things that I’ve ever done in my life,” she said.
Family connection helps ease transition
The Henninger family had similar feelings.
Evan’s family has 15 aunts and uncles,
eight cousins, three grandparents, two older sisters and a mom who attended
WSU. In many ways, Evan is just the next in a line of WSU students.
For Mike and Lisa Henninger, of Bellingham,
the prospect of sending their son across the state was daunting. Now, months
later, they say the program has allowed Evan to become more independent and
confident.
“The other day, he said they had a leak in
the toilet, so he called maintenance,” Lisa said. “My other kids would have
called me first to figure out what to do. But Evan, he figured it out on his
own.”
Shortly after Evan received his acceptance
letter, his cousin, Jayson Gibb, was accepted into a sports management master’s
program at WSU’s College of Education. The two share a close bond. At the
center of their relationship is a passion for WSU sports.
“Throughout the family, I could not think
of a bigger Cougars fan than Evan,” said Gibb, a graduate assistant strength
and conditioning coach for WSU Athletics. “It doesn’t matter what sport was
going on, Evan was always updating and checking in, making sure there was a TV
around or a radio on that we could definitely listen in to.”
At the beginning of the semester, a
professor reached out to Gibb, asking if he knew of any internships within the
athletic department. A student in the ROAR program was interested, the
professor said. Sure enough, it was Evan.
From there, Evan worked with the WSU soccer
team in various roles. He assisted the equipment manager in setting up pregame
warm-ups, observed team workouts with the strength and conditioning coaches,
and met players and coaching staff.
The coolest part of the experience for Gibb
was seeing faculty members advocate for Evan.
“They were going out of their way to help
Evan find an internship,” Gibb said. “They wanted to see him get an internship
within athletics, and they knew I was a graduate assistant within athletics.
This opportunity just shows how community-based Washington State truly is.”
Gibb has seen Evan’s level of independence
grow dramatically. At the start of the semester, Evan frequently messaged Gibb
with questions. Now, those phone calls and text messages have steadily
decreased.
“He’s cooking for himself,” Gibb said.
“Evan can eat a bunch, but he’s kind of understanding (how to balance). I tell
him, ‘ OK, maybe let’s have soda once a week.’ I always check in with him, kind
of have a little joke going with that. But he’s learning to become very
independent.”
On a Friday in late November, Evan went to
Bohler Gym to visit the athletic offices and talk with a reporter about his
experiences with ROAR. He had no idea that Gibb was going to join in on the
interview.
As Gibb walked in the door, Evan’s face lit
up with a smile and he yelled, “Jayson!” Evan smiled as the two swapped stories
about their families, reunions and shared memories.
One of Evan’s favorite spots on campus is
Gibb Pool, named after his great uncle. Evan, who swam in the 2017 Special
Olympics, takes a weekly swimming class. Jayson noted that Evan is a “heck of a
swimmer.”
This semester, Evan took one sports
management class – it does not count for academic credit – and two mandatory
ROAR program classes in life skills and health.
Evan is looking forward to taking another
round of classes next semester through the ROAR program. He expects to finish
the program in May 2020. When he does, he will receive a certificate provided
by the U.S. Department of Education.
At the same time, Jayson will earn his
master’s degree in sports management education. The cousins will add two links
to a long line of WSU heritage when they graduate together.
Gibb said ROAR brought him and Evan, and
their entire families, closer together. Gibb and the Henningers intend to stay
involved with the program after Evan graduates.
“To
be able to have both aspects and what I’ve seen them do in the events I’ve been
at for these kids and families, it’s something I want to continue to support
throughout the years,” Gibb said. “It’s something I truly believe in and I want
more kids to have this opportunity.”
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Washington State men’s basketball team has
clean bill of health heading into Pac-12 hoops opener at Washington
UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 4, 2019, 1:02 p.m.
By Theo Lawson Spokane S-R
With three consecutive losses, Washington
State’s men’s basketball team may be limping into Pac-12 Conference play this
week, but at least it’s only a figurative term for the now healthy Cougars as
they travel to Seattle this Saturday for the league opener at Alaska Airlines
Arena.
At this point, even those types of silver
linings are important for a WSU team that went only 7-6 in its first 13 games –
seven wins at home and all six losses on the road – albeit playing a
nonconference schedule that ESPN ranks No. 336 in the country.
The Pac-12 schedule that now awaits the
Cougars won’t be as thorny as it’s been in the past. The conference doesn’t
have a single team ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and its only receiving
vote-getter, Arizona State, stumbled Thursday in its Pac-12 opener against
Utah. The league won just 61 percent of its nonconference games – played mostly
against lower-tier foes – and at this rate, it might struggle to get more than
one at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Nonetheless, a WSU team that only faced two
opponents ranked in the top 100 of ESPN’s BPI rankings through nonconference
play now has to see two more of those in the first week and a half of Pac-12
play, and a handful of others over the next two-plus months.
It isn’t exactly a minefield the Cougars
are heading into, but the road should get tougher – and that’s exactly where
this Pac-12 season starts. On the road.
WSU (7-6) visits cross-state rival UW (9-4)
at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Pac-12 Networks) before spending the following week in
the mountains, at Colorado (9-4) on Thursday and Utah (7-6) on Saturday.
“I think they’re as prepared as they can
be,” said Kent, WSU’s fifth-year coach. “You can’t really simulate the crowds
and the arenas, the bigger, better, stronger players. You have to go through
that. But the good thing is, we have enough veteran players that can help them
through that.”
And the other positive note? The Cougars
have something they didn’t have the first two months of the season: a clean
bill of health.
After picking up all sorts of nicks and
bruises through the first 13 games of the 2018-19 season – a hip contusion
here, a concussion there – WSU is bringing a fully healthy roster to Seattle.
Senior forward Robert Franks, who’s 21st in
the nation at 22.1 points per game, sat out of a 79-71 loss to Santa Clara
because of a hip contusion and is currently “day to day,” according to Kent,
though the coach says Franks “should be ready to play” come Saturday .
Viont’e Daniels (concussion) and Isaiah
Wade (ankle) have each missed time this season, but both expect to be in the
fold against UW.
The trio of Franks, Daniels and Wade
accounts for 35.4 points per game and 13.9 rebounds per game. Daniels’ 4.4
assists per game lead the team.
“Five of those six losses were without a
starter due to injury out on the floor,” Kent said. “And yet we look at them,
they’re by a combined six points per game on average. You lose a game and we
look back on tape and we’re right there with three minutes to go in all the
games. Sometimes the games are tied when regulation ends and all that, too.
“All
in all, I’m pleased with how our new guys have performed and pleased with how
this team has performed knowing we had one piece missing. But yet at the same
time, we definitely felt we left some games on the floor.”
Mike Hopkins’ Huskies opened the year at
No. 25 in the country, but quickly fell out of the national rankings after a
22-point loss at Auburn. Three of UW’s four defeats came to teams currently
ranked inside the top-12: No. 12 Auburn, No. 10 Virginia Tech and No. 7 Nevada.
The Huskies have the Pac-12’s reigning
Defensive Player of the Year, 6-foot-5 senior guard Matisse Thybulle, and two
players averaging double figures in senior forward Noah Dickerson (15.3 ppg)
and sophomore guard Jaylen Nowell (17.1).
“The
challenges are going to be they’re a veteran basketball team, we’ve got new
guys we’re play with,” Kent said. “We’re going to have to really play a smart,
heady basketball game and making sure their experience is not the factor in the
game with us. We’ve got to make sure we can match that with our intelligence in
the game.”
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WSU Coug Steve Gleason’s Congressional Gold
Medal official
UPDATED: Thursday Jan. 3, 2019
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – President Donald Trump
signed legislation Thursday awarding former New Orleans Saints and Washington
State football player Steve Gleason the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest
civilian honor awarded by Congress.
The 41-year-old Gleason has ALS, also known
as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Congress sought to honor him for his work as an
advocate for people with the paralyzing neuromuscular disease.
Gleason is the first NFL player to receive
a Congressional Gold Medal.
He became famous for blocking a punt in
2006 on the night the Superdome reopened after Hurricane Katrina. He retired
from the NFL in 2008 and was diagnosed with ALS in 2011.
He has since spearheaded efforts through
the Team Gleason foundation to develop and provide technology to help ALS
patients live longer, more fulfilling lives. Those include devices that track
eye movements to help paralyzed people type words that can be transformed into
speech. Gleason has used the technology to communicate, post messages on social
media, address lawmakers from around the world and give motivational speeches
to athletes.
Congress last year approved the Gleason
Act, which provided funding to help ALS patients get such devices.
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