Men’s basketball coach Mark Edwards, men’s tennis coach Roger Follmer and volleyball coach Rich Luenemann were honored at the 51st Annual Baseball Writers’ Association of America Dinner Jan. 19 in downtown St. Louis.
The winter event annually honors the St. Louis Cardinals and other accomplished major league players but also gives an award for achievement in sports other than professional baseball.
Edwards, Follmer and Luenemann were each given the John E. Wray Award by the Baseball Writers for leading their teams to the NCAA Division III national championship in basketball, tennis and volleyball, respectively, during the 2007-08 academic year.
Men’s basketball dominates on the road
The No. 3 men’s basketball team outscored its opponents by 25.5 points per game in two road University Athletic Association (UAA) victories last weekend.
Junior Aaron Thompson scored a game-high 16 points, hitting four three pointers, to lead the Bears to a 73-42 win at University of Rochester Jan. 23. WUSTL won its 75th consecutive game when holding an opponent under 60 points, a streak that dates back to the 1998 season.
Two days later, Thompson poured in a game-high 30 points, and senior Sean Wallis recorded his third double-double of the year as the Bears won at No. 18 Carnegie Mellon University, 90-70, Jan. 25.
WUSTL (15-1, 5-0 UAA) continues its four-game conference road-trip to play Brandeis University Friday, Jan. 30, and New York University Sunday, Feb. 1.
Women’s basketball splits two on trip
The No. 19 women’s basketball team lost a tough contest at No. 1 University of Rochester, 65-62, Jan. 23 in Rochester, N.Y., but rebounded to defeat Carnegie Mellon University, 71-62, Jan. 25.
Junior Zoe Unruh scored a season-high 19 points to lead the Bears against Rochester, but it was not enough for them to overcome 19 turnovers or a free-throw differential of 26-6 in favor of Rochester.
WUSTL overcame a slow shooting start to pick up the nine-point win at Carnegie Mellon. The Bears trailed 10-0 before senior Halsey Ward hit two three pointers to pull them within four points. Carnegie gradually extended its lead, going up 32-15 in the first half before the Bears began what would turn into a 35-8 scoring run that began in the first half and lasted until the 13:45 mark of the second half.
Senior Jaimie McFarlin scored 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the win, her team-leading fourth double-double of the year. Ward (12), junior Janice Evans (12) and Unruh (11) also scored in double figures for WUSTL.
The Bears are now in a four-way tie for first place in the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings with Rochester, University of Chicago and New York University.
The Bears (12-4, 4-1 UAA) continue conference play Friday, Jan. 30, at Brandeis University and then take on New York University Sunday, Feb. 1.
Swimming ends season on high note
The men’s and women’s swimming teams closed out their regular seasons with a pair of wins at Principia College Jan. 23.
The WUSTL men defeated the Panthers, 139-77, to improve to 5-0 in dual meets this season, and the women won, 120-85, standing at 2-2 in dual meet action.
Sophomore Karin Underwood and freshman Samantha Schulte each won two individual races and were members of the first-place 200-medley relay team.
Senior Kevin Leckey, sophomore Kartik Anjur, senior Kyle Ota and freshman Nick Thornburg won the 200-medley relay on the men’s side (1:39.48).
The next meet for both teams is Feb. 11-14 at the 2009 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships in Chicago.
Track teams compete at Snowbird Classic
The women’s indoor track and field team placed first, and the men’s team was second at the Illinois College Snowbird Classic Jan. 24 in Jacksonville, Ill.
The women’s team placed first out of 11 schools with 152 points, while the men’s squad finished second in a field of 13 teams with 99.50 points.
Both teams return to action Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Rose-Hulman Engineer Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind.