Football team starts season strong, 2-0

Senior quarterback Buck Smith connected on 19 of 28 passes for a career-high 279 yards and a touchdown as the Bears posted a convincing 45-13 victory over Westminster College Sept. 13.

WUSTL piled up a season-high 570 yards of total offense in the victory, with 388 yards coming in the air and 182 yards on the ground. The last time the Bears picked up more than 500 yards of total offense was a 49-42 victory over Case Western Reserve Oct. 26, 2002.

The Bears scored on their opening drive for the second consecutive game as junior running back Matt Glenn scored from six yards out to make it 7-0. Later, with the game in hand, sophomore quarterback Mitchel Bartel saw action and scored his first career touchdown to make it 45-6.

WUSTL improved its all-time record against Westminster to 14-2-1. The Bears travel to Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, Sept. 20, to play Wittenburg University.

Volleyball has heartbreaking weekend

The volleyball team lost a five-set thriller to No. 1 Juniata, 3-2, at the Fifth Annual Teri Clemens Invitational in the WU Field House Sept. 12, rebounded the next day against Bethel University but lost the championship match to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The Bears fell behind Juniata, 2-0, but forced a deciding fifth set by picking up 25-23 wins in the third and fourth frames. However, the Eagles used a 3-0 scoring run in the fifth set to take a 10-8 lead that they never relinquished. WUSTL went on to defeat Bethel University, 3-0, but fell to No. 13 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 3-1, in the finale, a rematch of the 2007 NCAA Division III championship match.

Two Bears, senior rightside attacker Nikki Morrison and senior Audra Janak, were named to the all-tournament team.

WUSTL (9-2) returns to action Sept. 26 when it travels to Birmingham, Ala., to compete in the Birmingham Southern Loco’s Invitational.

Men’s soccer wins three straight at home

The men’s soccer team won three straight games last week, defeating Principia College at home, 2-0, Sept. 9; Southwestern University, 3-0, Sept. 12; and Denison University, 2-0, Sept. 13.

Junior forward John Hengel was the star offensively, scoring three goals during the week, including two game winners. Hengel netted the game-winning goal to break a 0-0 tie in the second half against Principia and scored two, including a penalty kick, against Denison. Sophomore Harry Beddo, the Bears’ leading scorer a year ago, netted his first two goals of the season in the win over Southwestern.

The Bears (4-2) return to action Thursday, Sept. 18, against Fontbonne University at Gay Field in Clayton, Mo., at 7 p.m.

Conlon picks up soccer win No. 100

First-year head coach Jim Conlon tallied his 100th career win as an NCAA women’s soccer coach as the Bears defeated Wartburg University, 4-1, Sept. 14 at Francis Field. Conlon, who spent the past eight seasons as the head women’s soccer coach at Wartburg, has compiled a 100-58-6 (.628) overall record in nine years.

Senior Lauren Mehner had two goals for the Bears, while senior Kristen Hilligoss and freshman Lee Ann Felder added a goal. Senior Amanda Boe picked up the win in goal, making seven saves.

WUSTL (4-1-1) hosts Maryville University Thursday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m.

Women’s golf wins in WUSTL debut

Junior Kristina Zeschin fired an 84 as the women’s golf team won its inaugural tournament at the 2008 McKendree University Fall Invitational Sept. 13 at the Cardinal Creek Golf Club in Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

WUSTL shot an overall mark of 354, while McKendree University’s “A” squad was second with 361. Maryville University followed in third place with a 365, while McKendree’s “B” team was fourth with a 405.

The Bears battled tough winds through the 18-hole course but managed to prevail.

WUSTL returns to action Sept. 27-28 at the Millikin Fall Classic at the Red Tail Country Club in Decatur, Ill.