Men’s basketball on a roll
The men’s basketball team extends its winning streak to four games with a pair of home victories over Carnegie Mellon University and Case Western Reserve University this past weekend.
With the two victories, the team extended its conference winning streak to four straight games and the Bears improved to 10-8 overall and 4-3 in the University Athletic Association.
Sophomore Robert Burnett recorded his first-career double-double in his first-career start in the Bears’ 70-62 victory over Carnegie Mellon Jan. 28. Burnett scored a career-high 12 points to go along with a career-best 13.
Senior Spencer Gay led the Bears with 16 points to go along with nine rebounds. He also swatted four shots, which moved him into ninth-place in school history with 88-career blocks. Junior Dylan Richter added 14 points with six assists and four rebounds in the victory.
WUSTL followed that up with an 80-65 win over Case Western Jan. 30. Gay scored a game-high 22 points and added seven rebounds and four blocks in the victory. Gay has scored at least 22 points in three of his last four games and has reached double figures in 16 of 18 games played this season.
Sophomore Ben Hoener filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds and six assists. Juniors Dylan Richter (14 points) and Alex Toth (14 points) made it four players in double figures for the Bears.
WUSTL will play its next four games on the road, starting with a crucial game at Carnegie Mellon University Friday, Feb. 4.
Women’s basketball on six-game win streak
The No. 8 women’s basketball team stretched its current winning streak to six with a pair of home wins over University Athletic Association (UAA) foes last weekend.
Senior Alex Hoover scored 12 points with five assists, five rebounds and four steals to lead the Bears to a 61-39 victory over Carnegie Mellon University Jan. 28.
Junior Dani Hoover recorded the first double-double of her career with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in an 80-58 win over Case Western Reserve University on Jan. 30. Senior Kathryn Berger scored a game-high 21 points and sophomore Kristin Anda also reached double figures in scoring with 11 points against Case.
WUSTL has now won six straight conference games and concludes the first half of UAA play with a 6-1 mark. Washington University (15-3, 6-1 UAA) embarks on a four-game road trip Feb. 4 when it heads to Pittsburgh to take on Carnegie Mellon University.
More track records fall
More track records fell as the men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams were in competition at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Engineer Invitational Jan. 29.
Junior hurdlers Dan Davis and Tyler Jackson continued their assault on the WUSTL record book with stellar performances in the 55-meter hurdles.
Davis posted a time of 7.50 in the finals, which set a new WUSTL record, eclipsing the old mark of 7.53, while also automatically qualifying him for the 2011 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. Jackson’s time in the 55-hurdles was also impressive; he finished a mere .12 seconds behind Davis to finish second in the event and meet provisional qualifying standards for the NCAA championships.
Senior Dave Spandorfer had perhaps the most impressive performance of the day because of his finishes in two races. Spandorfer placed third in the mile with a time of 4:15.20, which stands as a provisional time for the NCAA meet in March and also set a new WUSTL record. He also finished second in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:48.49, with teammate Michael Burnstein claiming the top spot in that race with a time of 8:47.75.
The WUSTL women’s team saw three competitors claim first-place finishes. Sophomore Anne Diaz-Arrastia won the triple jump with a distance of 10.86 meters, and was also the runner-up in the long jump, leaping 5.16 meters. Freshman Anna Etherington won the pole vault by clearing 3.20 meters and senior Sangeeta Hardy ran a season-best time of 2:19.53 in the 800-meter to finish in first.
Both teams return to action this weekend for a two-day competition at Illinois Wesleyan University. The Bob Keck Pentathlon takes place Friday, Feb. 4, while the Invitational follows Saturday, Feb. 5.