Cougars Set to Compete in Chick-Fil-A Invite

Friday, October 5

Fresno, CA

All Day

Washington State University

Chick-Fil-A Invite

October 03, 2018 | Swimming

By: Athletic Communications

THIS WEEK
Washington State travels to Fresno, Calif. to compete in the Chick-Fil-A Invite hosted by Fresno State.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
Joining Washington State at the invite will be Pac-12 foe California as well as Mountain West competitors Fresno State, San Diego State, San Jose State, and Air Force.

WORDS FROM COACH LEACH
"We had a great Crimson and Gray Meet, and we're looking to carry that energy into an invitational meet. I'm hoping that we can continue focusing on our lanes but also put together good session after good session. This is a great test for us, we're going to use it as another gauge of what we're doing right and what we can continue to work on. When you go to a meet like this where you have that Friday morning and afternoon session and then that Saturday morning session, we're going to try and do is make sure that we're able to perform at a high level."

LAST TIME IN THE POOL
The Cougars opened their season with a relay meet against San Diego State and Nevada. The team notched 10 top-three finishes against the two teams, including a first place finish in the 400 free relay. The Cougars also earned their first win of the season over San Diego, 129-122. Sophomores Mackenzie Duarte and Taylor McCoy and freshman Keiana Fountaine each earned two individual wins in their respective events. Senior Jasmine Margetts and junior Ryan Falk earned a win each. Freshmen Emily Barrier, Payton Bokowy, and Foutaine and sophomore Chloe Larson placed first in the 400 free relay against San Diego.

EIGHT COUGARS JOIN THE ROSTER
Eight freshmen begin their rookie campaigns with the Cougars. The class is comprised of Sophia Balmaceda (Fremont, Calif.), Emily Barrier (Fort Collins, Colo.), Payton Bokowy (Sandpoint, Idaho), Lauren Burkel (Albuquerque, N.M.), Keiana Fountaine (Tracy, Calif.), Paige Gardner (Walla Walla, Wash.), Haily Hyde (Bend, ore.), and Olivia Tungate (Oak Harbor, Wash.).

COUGARS TAB MATT LEACH AS NEW HEAD COACH
The Cougars welcomed Matt Leach as head coach July, 2018. Leach joins WSU after spending the previous three years at Indiana State where he started the swimming and diving programs in 2015 and began competing in the 2016-17 season. In the program's second season, Leach was named the 2017-19 Missouri Valley Coach of the Year after guiding the sycamores to a 13-win campaign that featured 10-dual match win streak and a record-setting team performance at the Missouri Vally Conference Championships where ISU set school records in every event, highlighted by the program's first individual conference champion.

COMING UP
The Cougars will welcome reigning national champions Stanford Oct. 12 for their first home dual meet. The meet is set to being 2 p.m.