The No. 2 men’s tennis team extended its winning streak to six with an 8-1 victory over Grinnell College March 29 at the Tao Tennis Center.
The victory was WUSTL’s 23rd straight at home dating back to the 2006-07 season and its 40th in the past 41 home court matches. The Bears are 66-6 (.917) at home under head coach Roger Follmer.
Follmer, meanwhile, has been named head coach of the World Team Tennis St. Louis Aces, which plays its matches in the summer. The 2006 ITA/Wilson Division III National Coach of the Year will continue to serve as head coach at WUSTL.
Women’s tennis ends week on high note
The No. 15 women’s tennis team ended a week of difficult matchups on a high note, as the Bears defeated No. 13 Middlebury College, 6-3, at the conclusion of the Emory University Fab Five Tournament March 29 in Atlanta.
WUSTL began the week with a 6-2 loss to Division II Drury University March 24 and suffered a 5-4 setback to No. 9 Mary Washington University to open play at the Emory Fab Five Tournament March 27. The Bears then fell to No. 1 Williams, 7-1, before coming back to pick up the win over Middlebury. That win marked the third time this season WUSTL has defeated a team ranked ahead of them.
The Bears (8-3) open play at the Midwest Invitational Friday, April 3, in Madison, Wis.
Track athletes set NCAA qualifying times
The men’s and women’s outdoor track and field team each had a student athlete provisionally qualify for the 2009 NCAA Division III outdoor championships at the Washington University Mini Meet March 27 at Bushyhead Track.
Senior Alli Alberts placed second in the javelin, but her toss of 40.37 meters set a new school record and provisionally qualified her for the NCAA championships.
On the men’s side, senior Tanner Coghill won the 400-meter hurdles with a NCAA provisional time of 53.26.
The Bears had four other first-place finishers at the meet. Senior Danielle Wadlington won the 100-meter hurdles (15.11), senior Erika Wade placed first in the 400-meter dash (58.60), junior Molly Schlamb won the 1,500-meter run (4:44.29), and freshman Elizabeth Phillips took first in the 800-meter run (2:16.45).
Postseason honors for men’s basketball
After leading the men’s basketball team to its second consecutive NCAA Division III national title, head coach Mark Edwards has been named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Molten/DIII News Division III National Coach of the Year.
Edwards will receive his NABC award Sunday, April 5, in Detroit in an awards show to be televised on the CBS College Sports Network Monday, April 6, at 6 p.m.
He will receive the coveted Molten Gold Trophy ball to recognize his DIII News Coach of the Year honor at a later date.
Three players picked up postseason honors as well. Junior guard Aaron Thompson, senior forward Tyler Nading and senior point guard Sean Wallis all were named to DIII News All-America teams. Thompson picked up first-team honors, Nading was named to the fourth team, and Wallis earned honorable mention.
WUSTL to host WBCA All-America Game
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) High School All-America Game will take place at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 4, at the WU Field House.
The game takes place in conjunction with the 28th annual WBCA National Convention and the NCAA Women’s Final Four in St. Louis April 5 and 7.
Tickets for the event are $15 and can be purchased at ticketweb.com.