The No. 2-ranked men’s tennis team captured its first-ever University Athletic Association (UAA) championship with a 5-4 victory over top-ranked Emory University April 19, extending its school-record winning streak to 16 matches and ending Emory’s 19-year run as conference champion.
Junior Danny Levy clinched the match with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Oliver Lopp at No. 5 singles. The Bears (19-2) gain the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament, where they will be making their 10th straight appearance and 14th overall.
WUSTL also picked up four wins last week en route to the UAA title over the University of Missouri-St. Louis April 14; Southern Illinois University Edwardsville April 15; Brandeis University April 17; and Carnegie Mellon University April 18.
Manning sets school golf record at Millikin
Junior Margaret Manning followed up a career-best round April 17 with a school-record 75 April 18 to lead the women’s golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Millikin Spring Classic.
Manning, who tied for the lowest 18-hole round of the tournament, finished the 36-hole event with a 157, good for a career-best sixth-place finish out of 87 golfers.
Illinois Wesleyan University shot a 635 to claim the team title, while Rend Lake Community College (645), Wheaton College (656), Hope College (662) and Washington University (680) rounded out the top five.
Junior Kristina Zeschin and sophomore Kathleen Pettinato finished with a 174; freshman Sarah Miller shot a 177; and freshman Katie Homa (178) rounded out scoring for WUSTL. Junior Elizabeth Pfohl competed as an individual and tied for 58th with a 184.
Softball extends win streak to eight
The softball team extended its winning streak to eight by winning six games last week. The Bears picked up two key regional victories with a doubleheader sweep over Maryville University April 15 at home. WUSTL came from behind for a 2-1 victory in Game 1 and then posted a 1-0 victory in nine innings in Game 2.
The Bears pushed their win total to more than 20 games for the 10th consecutive season with a pair of victories April 17 at the Illinois Wesleyan University Invitational, defeating Blackburn University 8-0 in six innings in Game 1 and then rallied for a 6-1 win over Hope College in Game 2. WUSTL concluded the week by banging out 31 hits in a two-game sweep at Missouri Baptist April 18.
During the streak, senior Kerry Kreitman led the team batting .500 (10-20) with five RBIs, while junior Ashton Hitchcock hit .483 (14-29) with a team-best nine RBIs.
Sophomore Claire Voris was 4-0 on the mound with a 0.25 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched. WUSTL (23-8) continues its four-game series with Missouri Baptist at home Saturday, April 25. Game 1 of the doubleheader is set to begin at noon.
Women’s tennis enters postseason on a roll
The No. 14 women’s tennis team posted a 6-1 win over Division I Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) April 16, pushing its winning streak to five straight.
The Bears concluded their regular-season schedule with a 13-4 overall record and will begin competition in the University Athletic Association Championship Friday, April 24, in Waltham, Mass.
Against SIUE, Washington University split two doubles matches and went on to take four singles points. Sophomores Kalee Cassady and Elise Sambol teamed to pick up an 8-2 win at second doubles, and Sambol also won at No. 3 singles.
Also earning singles victories was sophomore Karina Kocemba in the No. 1 match, senior Erin Swaller playing at No. 2 and sophomore Kristen Fleming, who won at No. 4.
Track competes at Wheaton Twilight
The men’s outdoor track and field team finished third, and the women were fourth at the Wheaton Twilight Meet April 18.
The women submitted a pair of provisional qualifying times. The 1,600-meter relay team of seniors Erika Wade, Alli Alberts, Krystyn Stowe and Danielle Wadlington placed second with a provisional mark of 3:55.60, while Wadlington eclipsed the NCAA qualifying time in the 100-meter hurdles, placing third in 14.88.
The men had four first-place finishes. Senior Pierre Hoppenot won the 100-meter hurdles, senior Nick Silverman was the top finisher in the 3,000-meter run, freshman Tyler Jackson placed first in the 110-meter hurdles, and the 1,600-meter relay team of junior Iby Umana, seniors Tanner Coghill and Nate Koslof and sophomore Ben Harmon earned the top spot with a time of 3:17.27.
The University Athletic Association championships begin Saturday, April 25, in Pittsburgh.