The women’s track and field team capped the 2009 NCAA outdoor track and field championships with its best finish in school history May 23, coming in fifth overall with 28 points.
The team trailed Gustavus Adolphus College by six points heading into the final two events of the day — the 5,000-meter run and the 4×400-meter relay — and needed to score in both events to have a shot at cracking the top five for the first time in school history.
Up first was sophomore Taryn Surtees, who delivered a sixth-place finish with a time of 17:24.12, adding three points to the WUSTL total to bring the Bears to just three points behind Gustavus Adolphus.
Both schools were represented in the 4×400-meter relay, and seniors Erika Wade, Alli Alberts, Krystyn Stowe and Danielle Wadlington ran to a fourth-place finish with a season-best time of 3:48.28. Wadlington anchored the relay and took the baton in seventh place overall, but she powered her way to fourth and fell just 0.01 shy of Wheaton College’s third-place time.
The Gustavus Adolphus 4×400 team came in eighth place in the race, meaning the Bears vaulted over them for fifth-place overall by a single point.
Also at the meet, the men’s team tallied seven points to tie for 44th place.
Baseball finishes season at 25-12
Despite ending with a loss to No. 5 Carthage College May 16 in the Central Regional of the NCAA Division III tournament, the baseball team’s season was a success. The Bears had a 25-12 overall record and made their fourth postseason appearance in five seasons. It also was WUSTL’s seventh NCAA tournament appearance overall.
Senior right fielder Zander Lehmann was selected to the 2009 ESPN the Magazine Baseball Academic All-America First-Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Lehmann is the first baseball student-athlete in WUSTL history to earn first-team academic All-America honors and the University’s seventh overall in all sports. Lehmann earned a bachelor of arts in psychology in Arts & Sciences last month with a 3.85 cumulative grade-point average.
Follmer named National Coach of the Year
Men’s tennis coach Roger Follmer has been named the 2009 Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year. Follmer earned the award for the second time in his career. He also won the award in 2006.
The men’s tennis team completed one of its best seasons in school history with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division III championship in Claremont, Calif., May 21.
The Bears set a school single-season record for wins with a 22-4 overall record and posted a school-record 19-match winning streak that lasted from March 11-May 20.
WUSTL also captured its first University Athletic Association tennis team championship with a 5-4 win over Emory University April 17 in Rochester, N.Y.
17th Annual W Club Golf Scramble
It’s not too late to sign up for the 17th Annual W Club Golf Scramble Monday, June 15, at the Meadowbrook Country Club in Ballwin, Mo. This event is the biggest fund-raiser of the year for the W Club and is very important for the student-athletes.
Even if you’re not a golfer, there are many ways to participate in this fund-raiser. For more information, contact Joe Worlund at 935-5247.