Men’s hoops scores 100 in back-to-back wins
The men’s basketball team (15-7, 7-4 UAA) won two key league home games to move into a second-place tie in the University Athletic Association standings.
The Bears defeated Case Western Reserve University, 111-74, on Feb. 10 at the Field House. Sophomore Danny O’Boyle finished with a career-high 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Senior Scott Stone added 20 points and eight assists, while sophomore Troy Ruths netted 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
On Feb. 12, Washington U. rallied for a 102-100 double overtime win over Emory University on Senior Day. The Bears, who hit a school- and UAA-record 46 free throws (59 attempts), rallied late in regulation to force overtime.
In the second overtime, Stone gave the Bears a brief 97-95 lead, but WUSTL trailed, 100-99, with 35.6 seconds left. But then freshman Tyler Nading stole the ball and drove in for the go-ahead lay-up with 28 seconds remaining in double overtime.
Nading finished with a career-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Ruths and senior Mike Grunst finished with 13 points apiece before fouling out in regulation. O’Boyle added 19 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.
Women’s hoops team wins two league games
The No. 3 women’s basketball team (20-2, 10-1 UAA) picked up two UAA home wins to remain in first place in the conference race.
The Bears defeated Case Western Reserve, 64-46, Feb. 10 at the Field House. Senior Danielle Beehler led WUSTL with 14 points and eight rebounds, while freshman Shanna-Lei Dacanay and senior Kelly Manning added 13 points apiece. Manning also became the fourth player in program history to score at least 1,400 points in the game.
On Feb. 12, Washington U. defeated Emory, 73-51, behind Manning’s 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. The Red and Green ended the first half on a 37-7 run to take a commanding 43-13 halftime lead.
Both swim, dive teams take third at UAA meet
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams each placed third at the UAA Championships Feb. 9-11 in Atlanta.
Senior Michael Slavik led the men, totaling four individual titles. He won the 100- and 200-yard freestyles and helped the 200-free relay and 400-free relay squads to first place. Classmate Eric Triebe also added a win in the 50 free.
On the women’s side, sophomore Meredith Nordbrock won the 200 IM and helped the 200-medley relay take first. Senior Jenny Scott placed second in the 500-freestyle and third in the 100 freestyle. Moreover, sophomore Priya Srikanth took third in the three-meter diving competition. She totaled 461.55 points to clear the NCAA qualifying standard of 410 points.
In all, the Bears combined to win total seven individual conference titles.
Women runners claim first at Illinois College
The indoor track and field teams competed at the Iowa State Classic on Saturday in Ames, Iowa, as well at the Illinois College Blue Classic in Jacksonville, Ill. Though no team scores were kept in Iowa, the WUSTL women took first place in the 10-team field in Jacksonville, Ill., and the Bears men placed third.
Junior Natalie Badowski won the 400-meter dash, while senior Laura Ehret took home the 800 title. Freshman Lyuda Shemyakina took second in the 800; and sophomore Morgen Leonard-Fleckman and junior Delaina Martin won the pole vault and weight throw, respectively.
Seniors David Skiba, Drew Martin and Karl Zelik took home first-place trophies for the WUSTL men. Skiba won the 55-meter hurdles, Martin won the shot put, and Zelik won the triple jump.
The Bears sent just two representatives to the Iowa State Classic. Senior Brennan Bonner turned in a strong performance in the 5,000-meter run. He provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships, clocking a time of 14:51.61. Junior Beth Herndon finished the 5K race in 18:37.43, a team season-best time.