Volleyball picks up where it left off
The defending national champion volleyball team will begin the 2010 season where it left off in 2009 — on top. The Bears were the unanimous selection as the No. 1 team in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll.
WUSTL received all 24 first-place votes for 600 points to begin the season ranked No. 1, followed by runner-up Juniata at No. 2. University Athletic Association (UAA) member Emory University checks in at No. 3, while Hope College and Colorado College round out the top five.
Washington University will face seven schools ranked in the preseason top-25, four of which landed in the top-10.
Head coach Rich Luenemann led Washington University to a 34-4 overall record in 2009, and captured the NCAA Division III national championship with a 3-1 victory over Juniata College. The Bears have won an NCAA Division III record 10 national championships, including two of the last three national crowns.
Junior middle hitter Lauren Budde highlights a group of five returning starters for the Bears. Also returning for the Bears is junior outside hitter Kristen Thomas, who joined Budde on the NCAA All-Tournament Team. Thomas was third on the squad with 351 kills in 2009.
The Bears open the 2010 season on Wednesday, Sept. 1, when they host Greenville College and Harris-Stowe State University in a dual match doubleheader at the WU Field House beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Men’s soccer opens season
The men’s soccer team was picked second in the 2010 University Athletic Association (UAA) Preseason Conference Coaches’ Poll.
The Bears return nine starters from last year’s team, including eight of its top-10 goal scorers from a year ago and the entire starting backfield, a unit that allowed just 16 goals scored all of last year. Headlining the defensive unit is a pair of first-team all-UAA honorees in seniors Harry Beddo and Randall Schoen. The team also brings back senior Alex Neumann and junior Cody Costakis, who earned honorable Mention all-UAA accolades a year ago.
The University of Rochester was selected to claim the UAA championship.
WUSTL opens the season at home at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, at Francis Field against Webster University.
Women’s soccer ranked No. 2 in the country
The NSCAA/adidas preseason poll has been announced and the WUSTL women are ranked No. 2 overall in soccer. Coach Jim Conlon returns 18 letterwinners and six starters from last year’s team, which advanced to the national title game before falling to Messiah College.
The Bears tied a school record with a 17-4-3 overall record, and won their fourth-straight University Athletic Association (UAA) championship.
Three all-UAA performers return, including junior forward Emma Brown. A second-team all-UAA and NCAA all-tournament team selection a year ago, Brown led the conference in goals scored (15) and points (36).
Sophomore goalkeeper Clara Jaques joined Brown on the all-UAA second team, and also picked up UAA Rookie of the Year honors. Jaques recorded a 16-4-3 record with six shutouts in 23 games started as a freshman. Junior Lee Ann Felder, an honorable-mention all-UAA honoree in 2009, started all 24 games in the midfield and recorded six goals and eight assists for 20 points.
Also returning for the Bears are three starting defenders: senior Julie Tembunkiart (20 starts) and juniors Natalie Callaghan (23 starts) and Alyssa Marulli (22 starts).
Defending national champion Messiah enters the season as the No. 1 ranked team in Division III. The Bears will face four teams ranked in the preseason top-25 poll: Wheaton College (Ill.) (No. 12), Calvin College (No. 15), University of Chicago (No. 22) and Illinois Wesleyan University (No. 24).
The Bears open on the road Wednesday, Sept. 1, at Division I Southeast Missouri State University.
Football picked second in UAA preseason poll
The WUSTL football team was picked second in the 2010 University Athletic Association (UAA) Preseason Conference Coaches’ Poll, as announced by the conference office.
Case Western Reserve University posted a perfect 10-0 regular season record and claimed its third-straight conference title with a 3-0 mark a year ago. The Spartans earned one first-place vote and seven points, and will start the 2010 season as the favorite to defend its UAA championship.
WUSTL and the University of Chicago tied for second with six points, with each school earning one first-place vote. Carnegie Mellon University received one first-place vote and totaled five points to finish fourth in the preseason poll.
Coach Larry Kindbom returns 17 starters from last year’s squad, which finished the 2009 season with a 4-6 overall record and a 1-2 mark in UAA play. WUSTL hosts Knox College at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, at Francis Field to open the 2010 season.
WUSTL Athletics launches online record book
The Department of Sports Information has launched a new electronic record book, which will replace media guides for all 19 intercollegiate sports. It can be accessed at bearsports.wustl.edu/recordbooks.html.
In addition, a new athletics website is in the works and will be launched in the coming weeks.
Bears land 13 on track all-academic teams
The men’s and women’s track and field teams were each honored by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as 2010 All-Academic Teams. Additionally, WUSTL had 13 student-athletes earn individual USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field honors.
The men’s team posted a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.420 in 2010, the seventh highest among the 68 Division III institutions to earn All-Academic Team recognition. The women maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.570 in 2010, the fourth-highest mark among 110 teams honored by the USTFCCCA. The University Athletic Association (UAA) had five members represented on both the men’s and women’s All-Academic Track teams.
Eight members of the women’s track and field team and five from the men’s squad were eligible individually for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team.
For the women, junior Kelli Blake, senior Hana Damore, sophomore Erica Jackey, junior Jessica Londeree, sophomore Elizabeth Phillips, senior Hope Rathnam, senior Molly Schlamb and junior Taryn Surtees qualified for the team.
On the men’s side, senior Alden Black, sophomore Michael Burnstein, junior Ben Harmon, sophomore Tyler Jackson, and junior Dave Spandorfer earned the honor.
Selections for the individual All-Academic Track and Field Team are dependent on the student-athlete compiling a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 in addition to meeting either an automatic or provisional NCAA Division III qualifying standard in their respective event. In order to be nominated for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team program, a team must carry a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.100.
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