Eleonora Villa
Wazzu keeps Eleonora Villa in one place: 2 stories so far. The section currently leads with “Cougar duo Covill and Villa land on Pac-12 preseason impact list” and “Kamie Ethridge's Cougs aim to bury that 9-25 season starting now”. Two Cougs made a list that matters before a single snap is taken. Mackenzie Chatfield put it bluntly: losing 30 games hits hard. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every Eleonora Villa story on Wazzu, newest first.
Cougar duo Covill and Villa land on Pac-12 preseason impact list
Two Cougs made a list that matters before a single snap is taken. Kaitlyn Covill and Lacy Villa landed on the Pac-12 preseason impact list, and that is not the kind of thing you ignore over a beer at the Cougar Country Club. Covill and Villa are not just names on a roster. They are the kind of players who make you check the schedule twice. The list is about who changes games, and the conference noticed what Pullman already knew. This is a roster that Kamie Ethridge has ready to run, and if you have not read about how she stepped to the mic with that group, go find "Kamie Ethridge steps to the mic with a roster ready to run." It fits right alongside this news. The preseason buzz means nothing if the fall does not back it up, but having two players on that list says the program is not waiting around. Covill and Villa are going to draw attention. That is fine. Cougs are used to being the ones the rest of the league has to figure out. Go Cougs.
Kamie Ethridge's Cougs aim to bury that 9-25 season starting now
Mackenzie Chatfield put it bluntly: losing 30 games hits hard. That's the kind of honesty you get from a senior who spent the summer grinding in Pullman, trying to forget a 9-25 record. Kamie Ethridge's Cougs return every starter for the first time in a while, continuity pays off, as our related article notes, and they're betting that experience plus a little nerve regeneration equals a real bounce-back. Chatfield's story is the kind you root for. She forgot how to shoot threes, not because she lost the touch, but because a shoe caused nerve damage. She attempted one three-pointer all last season. One. So she spent the offseason reteaching her own brain with assistant Laurie Koehn. That's the kind of work that doesn't show up in a box score until February. Ethridge says the team is more balanced, more physical, and communicating better. That's coachspeak for "we were bad and now we're less bad," but with Eleonora Villa dropping 560 points and Alex Covill finally healthy, there's actual reason to believe. The new faces are freshmen and a SMU transfer fighting for bench minutes. The old faces are motivated by a season they'd rather forget. It's early. But this group has the kind of chip you want on your shoulder. Go Cougs.