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home at Wazzu is a file of 3 stories. The newest of them: “Cougs return to the pool Friday to take on Fresno State”, “Seattle U slides into Pullman for a home dual in the pool”, and “WSU and Gonzaga close league play with a Wednesday night showdown”. The Cougs are back in the water Friday, and this time they get to stay home. Pullman's pool gets a little more Seattle in it this week, and that's fine by us. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every home story on Wazzu, newest first.
Cougs return to the pool Friday to take on Fresno State
The Cougs are back in the water Friday, and this time they get to stay home. Fresno State rolls into Pullman for a showdown that should feel a lot more comfortable than the last one. Remember that Halloween meet that moved? That was a weird one, even by swim meet standards. But this is a straightforward dual in familiar territory. No travel, no adjusting to a strange pool. Just racing. Fresno State is a solid test. They're not a pushover, and the Bulldogs always seem to bring some fight when they come north. But the Cougs have been putting in the work, and the Arizona road trip earlier this season showed this group can handle a little adversity. That two-day set out west was good seasoning. Now they get the benefit of the home crowd and the lanes they grind in every day. That matters in swimming more than most sports. The walls feel right. The air feels right. The routine is yours. We like the Cougs in this one. Not because it'll be easy, but because they've earned the right to be confident right now. If you're looking for more context on how the season is shaping up, our piece on the Pac-12 hoops tiers is worth a read, but for now, the pool is the focus. Get to Gibb Pool if you can. Or just follow along. Either way, expect a good meet. Go Cougs.
Seattle U slides into Pullman for a home dual in the pool
Pullman's pool gets a little more Seattle in it this week, and that's fine by us. Seattle U slides into town for a home dual, which means the Cougs get a chance to trade the Palouse wind for some actual racing. No conference trophy on the line, no national rankings at stake, just two programs lining up and seeing who wants it more. That's the kind of meet we like: straightforward, a little feisty, and easy to follow from the bleachers. We've been tracking this stretch of the schedule, and the Cougs have been busy beyond the lanes. If you missed the cross country crew taking the Palouse mile for bragging rights Friday, that's the kind of local rivalry we live for. And the soccer team already cleaned up the pitch in a Seattle U tune-up, so there's a bit of a theme building here: the Redhawks keep showing up, and the Cougs keep answering. This dual is a chance to sharpen the details. Relay exchanges, turns, the little things that matter when the calendar flips to the bigger invites. Seattle U won't roll over, and they shouldn't have to. We just want to see the home team set the tone early, hold the wall well, and give the crowd something to holler about. It's not about running up a score. It's about showing the work is paying off. Go Cougs.
WSU and Gonzaga close league play with a Wednesday night showdown
The Cougs and the Zags will close out the new Pac-12 women's basketball regular season against each other on March 6, and it will be in Spokane at McCarthey Athletic Center. That's a Wednesday night showdown with some history behind it. The full conference schedule dropped Friday, and it's a clean 16-game slate for the eight-team league. Every team plays everyone home and away. Washington State opens league play at home against Texas State on Jan. 9. Gonzaga starts earlier, hosting Oregon State on Jan. 6. Times and TV are still TBD, which is the standard dance this time of year. The head-to-head numbers are what they are. Gonzaga leads the all-time series 14-7, and they swept all four meetings when these two shared the West Coast Conference the last two seasons. That stings. But this is a new league and a new chapter. The Cougs get one more shot at the Zags to close things out, and there's something fitting about that. For more on what's happening around the program, check out the update on Trey Leckner healing up fast and maybe finally seeing the field. Tight end room could use the help. Go Cougs.