The track and field team showed its ability to line up with top-level competition and perform as the Bears recorded three top-seven finishes at the Kansas Relays in Lawrence, Kan., April 19-20. Sophomore Maggie Grabow, continuing her strong 2003 outdoor campaign, placed fourth in the 5,000 with a personal record and NCAA-qualifying time of 17:42.24. Senior All-American Elizabeth Stoll, building on her NCAA-leading 1.72 meter high jump performance from a week ago, cleared 1.65 meters in wet conditions to place seventh. Stoll’s competition included some of the best high jumpers from the region as she beat no fewer than 10 Division I competitors. The 4×400 meter relay team of Katelin Gruber, Hallie Hutchens, Andrea Moreland and Valerie Lasko ran 3:58.01 to record its fastest time of the year. The Bears also traveled to the Millikin Classic in Decatur, Ill., April 19. Senior Todd Bjerkaas continued his improbable long jump comeback as he leapt 6.86 meters for second place. Bjerkaas was sidelined for most of the indoor season with a broken left foot, suffered at the indoor season opener at Eastern Illinois University.
Other updates
The baseball team dropped two of three last week, despite several strong individual performances. WUSTL took on Illinois Wesleyan April 17 in Bloomington, Ill. Damien Janet threw another gem, allowing just one earned run in 8 2/3 innings, but a bad-hop single scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth as the host Titans recorded a 2-1 win. The Bears rebounded with a convincing 9-1 win at DePauw University in the first half of a doubleheader April 20 as Steve Schmidt improved to 5-0. Ryan Argo went 4 for 5 and Joe Kelly was 2 for 2 with three RBIs as the Bears scored seven times in the sixth. It was over quickly in Game 2 as the first six DePauw batters crossed the plate in a nine-run first inning en route to a 13-6 win.
The women’s tennis team improved to 13-3 with an 8-1 win over Principia College April 15. Junior Laura Greenberg picked up career win No. 100 as she and Sara Kabakoff won 8-0 at third doubles. Greenberg, now 101-11 in her career, also added a 6-0, 6-0 win at third singles. Other singles winners included Lauren Zwick, Steph Cook, Jen Kivitz, Kabakoff and Meera Damle. Kivitz and Zwick also added a win at No. 2 doubles.
University to host UAA tennis tournamentThe Bears will host the University Athletic Association men’s and women’s tennis championships today through April 27. The matches start at 9 a.m. each day and will be played at both Tao Tennis Center and the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park. The No. 25 softball team set a school record with 26 wins as the Bears posted a two-game sweep over Maryville University April 18 at WUSTL Field. Victoria Ramsey improved to 12-2 as she pitched the Bears to a 2-1 win in Game 1. Dionna Little was 2 for 4 with an RBI while Jackie Burgdorf was 2 for 3 with two runs. In Game 2, the Bears jumped on the Saints early as they scored two runs in the first and five in the second en route to a 9-1 victory. Liz Smith improved to 6-0 for the Bears, who extended their winning streak to eight games.
The No. 7 men’s tennis team defeated Vincennes University, 6-1, in an exhibition match April 17 at the Tao Tennis Center. WUSTL swept the doubles point as Neil Kenner and Ari Rosenthal won at No.1 (8-6), Max Schlather and Shaul Yecheskel won at No. 2 (8-2) and Brian Alvo and Zack Fayne posted a 9-8 (7-5) win at No. 3 doubles. In singles, WUSTL won five of six matches as Kenner, Schlather, David Genovese, Rosenthal and Fayne each posted wins.