Northwest Colleges: Fredrick staying at WSU

Fredrick has a 269-172 record in 14 seasons at WSU, where her husband, Dr. Mashallah Farokhmanesh, serves as assistant coach. Last season, the Cougars advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament and finished the season ranked No. 7 nationally.

"Purdue did call me several times, and I was very honored by them pursuing both my husband and me, but after a lot of thought we decided we wanted to stay Cougars," Fredrick said.

"Purdue made a very strong offer but it boiled down to my conversation with (WSU athletic director Jim Sterk). It really did not come down to money. Jim really let us know that Washington State wants us to stay here and that was great to hear. Jim and I are working on enhancing some of the details of my contract."

Fredrick, whose current contract runs through 2007, is the most successful coach of a women's sport in WSU history, with seven 20-win seasons and nine NCAA tournament appearances.

Her overall collegiate record is 355-232 (.605 winning percentage) in 18 years as a head coach.

"It would take a lot to get us to leave Pullman, it is our home and we love it here," Fredrick said.

HOOPS NOTES: Seattle Pacific's unbeaten women's basketball team (16-0) remained No. 1 in the West Region and No. 2 nationally behind South Dakota State in the latest Division II rankings, while Western Washington (12-3) dipped to No. 4 in the region and No. 20 nationally after losing to the Falcons last week.

The region's top team will earn the right to host the eight-team regional tournament starting March 14. SPU last hosted the playoffs in 1998.

The Falcons, off to the best start in program history, have won 26 in a row at home, heading into a 5:30 matchup tonight against Alaska Anchorage at Brougham Pavilion.

On the men's side, Humboldt State (15-1) remained No. 1 in the West Region and No. 2 nationally, while Seattle University (12-4), unranked in the previous regional poll, jumped back in at No. 6.

Off to its best start in 36 seasons, SU has won seven of its past eight games, heading into key regional games tonight at No. 10 SPU (9-7) at 7:30 and Saturday at No. 7 Western Washington (10-6).

TRACK STARS COMING OUT: Five members of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team and five nationally ranked track and field squads are expected to compete this weekend in the University of Washington's Husky Invitational at Dempsey Indoor.

Heading the field is John Godina, two-time Olympic shot put medalist, and four-time U.S. women's shot put champion Seilala Sua. Other Olympians expected include former UW sprinter Ja'Warren Hooker, 800 meters runner Michael Stember, and 5,000 runner Brad Hauser.

In addition to the 19th-ranked Huskies, teams include No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Stanford and California from the Pac-10, plus No. 12 Wisconsin and No. 24 Southern Methodist.

The distance medley will be run tomorrow at 8 p.m. with all other events Saturday, starting with field events at 9 a.m. and running events at 10.

ELSEWHERE: Washington's softball team is ranked sixth in the preseason NFCA/USA Today coaches' poll. UCLA, Arizona and Cal occupy the top three spots, with Nebraska and Michigan tied for fourth. The Huskies open Feb. 6 against Santa Clara at the Hawaii Chevron Classic in Honolulu. . . . The UW women's tennis team, coming off a victory over previous No. 12 Northwestern, jumped six spots to No. 15 in the latest ITA national rankings, while the UW men rose one place to No. 19. . . . Eastern Washington quarterback Josh Blankenship was a third-team pick on the Don Hansen Football Gazette I-AA All-America team, while two other Eagles -- tight end Dan Curley and linebacker Luke Vincent -- received honorable mention. . . . Radio broadcasts of UW baseball games begin March 8 against WSU with the first of 17 games, plus any postseason play, on KKNW-AM/1150.