Sports update March 8

Women play Mount Union College at 7 p.m. Friday, March 12

The No. 6 women’s basketball team has been selected to host the 2010 NCAA Division III Tournament sectional rounds, to be held at the WU Field House March 12 and 13.

The first game at 5 p.m. Friday, March 12, pits George Fox University against Carthage College, with WUSTL taking on Mount Union College at 7 p.m. at the WU Field House. The winners play at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 13, at the WU Field House with the winner of that game advancing to the 2010 Division III women’s final four March 19 and 20 in Bloomington, Ill.

The Bears advanced to the NCAA sectional semifinals for the second year in a row with an 80-64 victory over No. 13 Thomas More College March 6 in Crestview Hills, Ky.

Junior Kathryn Berger scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting to lead the Bears past Thomas More.

Senior Zoe Unruh scored a career-high 31 point with a career-best eight three pointers as WUSTL defeated Maryville College (Tenn.), 81-67, in the NCAA first round March 5.

WUSTL, which is making its NCAA-record 21st straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, advances to the Sweet 16 for the 13th time overall and the fourth time over the past five seasons.

The Bears will face Mount Union College in one sectional semifinal game, while No. 5 George Fox University and No. 14 Carthage College will square off in the other semifinal. George Fox University is the defending NCAA Division III national champion, having defeated WUSTL, 60-53, in the 2009 national championship game.

Friday night’s showdown will be the first meeting between Washington University and Mount Union in school history.

Men’s basketball ends season with loss to Illinois Wesleyan

WUSTL’s magical four-year run came to a close March 6 with a 75-70 loss to Illinois Wesleyan University in the second round of the NCAA tournament at the WU Field House.

The top-ranked team in Division III ends its season with a 24-3 record, and the Class of 2010 finishes a remarkable career with an overall record of 103-16 (.866) with three University Athletic Association (UAA) championships, three trips to the Final Four, and the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Division III national championships.

Senior Aaron Thompson led the Bears with 20 points on 4-of-10 shooting from 3-point range, and he finishes his career third all-time in scoring (1,591) and second in 3-pointers made (289). Junior Spencer Gay added a double-double, the third of his career, with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Graduate student Sean Wallis was limited to just two points on 1-of-7 shooting but had a game-high 11 assists in his final game at WUSTL. Wallis wraps up his illustrious career as WUSTL’s all-time leader in assists and seventh in Division III history with 773.

Senior Cameron Smith (seven points, four rebounds), senior Zach Kelly (seven points, seven rebounds) and senior Ross Kelley (two points) round out the winningest senior class in school history.

Wallis scored a game-high 21 points and dished out 13 assists to lead the Bears to a 79-71 victory over Westminster College in the NCAA first round on March 5. Thompson and sophomore Dylan Richter each tallied 13 points for the Bears, while Gay added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Track qualifies six for NCAA indoor championship; men win UAA

The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams combined to have six student athletes in three events qualify to compete in the 2010 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, as announced March 8 by the NCAA selection committee.

For the WUSTL men’s team, junior Ben Harmon qualified to compete in the pentathlon, and sophomore Dan Davis qualified for the 55-meter hurdles.

On the women’s side, junior Sangeeta Hardy, sophomore Erica Jackey, sophomore Liz Phillips and senior Molly Schlamb will compete in the distance medley relay.

This year’s NCAA championships will be held Friday and Saturday, March 12 and 13, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.

Earlier in the week, the men captured the 2010 UAA Indoor Championship, while the women placed third at the indoor conference meet. The two teams combined to win eight UAA titles over the two-day meet March 5 and 6 at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.

In winning the UAA championship in the mile, Phillips set a new school record with a time of 4:55.32.

Swimming and diving has eight qualify for 2010 NCAA meet

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs combined to see eight student-athletes selected to compete in the 2010 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, as announced March 5 by the NCAA selection committee.

The men’s team had five student-athletes qualify for this year’s championship, while the women’s team will send three student-athletes to Minneapolis for the championship event March 17-20.

On the men’s side, senior Alex Beyer (500-free, 400-IM, 800-free relay), junior Kartik Anjur (800-free relay), junior David Chao (800-free relay) and junior Michael Flanagan (200-butterfly) qualified.

For the women, sophomore Karina Stridh (50-free, 100-back), senior Jessie Lodewyk (1,650-free) and junior Karin Underwood (200-back) were selected for the NCAA meet.

Softball improves to 6-0 with sweep in Florida

The No. 6 ranked softball team won four games at the NTC Games to improve its overall record to 6-0.

The Bears outscored their opponents, 35-10, and are averaging nine runs per game this season.

WUSTL defeated John Carroll University (11-2, six innings) and Rensselear Polytechnic Institute (7-0) March 6 and then Muhlenberg College (10-4) and Muskingum College (7-4) March 7.

Softball opens UAA play in Altamonte Springs, Fla., Tuesday, March 9, against Case Western Reserve University at 10 a.m. (ET) and Brandeis University at 12:30 p.m. (ET).

Men’s tennis opens spring break with victory

The No. 2 men’s tennis team opened its spring break trip with a 9-0 victory at the University of South March 6 in Sewanee, Tenn.

The Bears won all six singles matches in straight sets and lost just 10 games in three doubles matches.

WUSTL (5-2) travels to Hilton Head, S.C., to take on Methodist University on Monday, March 8, at 12:30 p.m. (ET) and Baldwin-Wallace College at 6 p.m. (ET).

Women’s tennis evens record at 2-2 with win over Sewanee

The No. 14 women’s tennis team picked up a doubles sweep en route to an 8-1 win over No. 27 University of the South March 6 in Sewanee, Tenn.

WUSTL swept doubles play before going to take five of the six singles matches.

The Bears will play four matches in four days during its spring break trip to Hilton Head, S.C., starting with Baldwin-Wallace College on Monday, March 8, at 6 p.m. (ET).

Baseball improves to 5-1; heads to Florida for UAA championship

The baseball team swept Westminster College in a double-header to elevate its record to 5-1 March 3 at Kelly Field.

The Bears won the first game, 5-2, and rallied to win the second, 5-4.

WUSTL also picked up an 11-3 win over Greenville College in St. Louis March 2.

The team (5-1) will be back in action Tuesday, March 9, in Sanford, Fla., when it begins the 2010 UAA championship tournament against Emory University at 2:30 p.m. (ET).