Women’s basketball falls short of national title
The women’s basketball team saw its remarkable postseason run come to an end with a 64-55 loss to No. 2 Amherst College in the 2011 NCAA Division III national championship game March 19 in Bloomington, Ill.
Amherst used an 18-5 run late in the game to break a 39-39 tie, winning its first national championship in school history. Senior Kathryn Berger averaged 19.5 points and eight rebounds per game at the Final Four, earning NCAA championship all-tournament team honors.
Berger scored 28 points in an 87-77 win over No. 7 Illinois Wesleyan University in the national semifinals on March 18, setting up the national championship showdown with Amherst.
The Bears, who finished the year with a 25-6 overall record, were playing in the national championship game for the third straight year and fourth time over the past five seasons. The team also advanced to its Division III record 10th Final Four.
Head coach Nancy Fahey was recognized as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division III National Coach of the Year and also picked up D3Hoops.com National Coach of the Year accolades. Berger was named a WBCA first-team All-American, and earned D3Hoops.com third-team All-America honors.
Softball posts 5-1 week
The softball team posted a 5-1 record last week, improving its overall record to 14-5-1. The Bears had wins over Oswego State University (16-2) and Keene State College (6-1) March 15 at the NTC Games in Clermont, Fla., before coming home to post victories over Fontbonne University (1-0), Augustana College (8-2) and No. 19 Coe College (5-4) at the WU Tournament.
Junior outfielder Alyssa Abramoski hit .563 (9-16) with two doubles, two triples a home run and eight RBIs during the six-game stretch. On the mound, senior pitcher Claire Voris posted a 3-0 record and struck out 36 batters in 20 innings pitched.
WUSTL continues its 12-game homestand with a doubleheader at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, against Blackburn College.
Baseball on a 12-game, two-week homestand
The baseball team started is 12-game, two-week homestand by posting a 4-2 record last week at Kelly Field.
The Bears split a doubleheader with Dominican University March 17, and picked up a 5-3 win over the defending Division III national champion Illinois Wesleyan University March 19.
Junior Brandon Rogalski and senior Matt Skinner paced the WUSTL offense last week. Rogalski hit .458 with a .958 slugging percentage, racking up seven extra-base hits with six RBI’s and nine runs scored. Skinner hit a team-high .471 at the plate with six RBI’s and a pair of doubles.
WUSTL had several dominant performances on the mound, with three players picking up complete-game wins. Senior David Liebman threw nine shutout innings with 12 strikeouts in a 7-0 win over the Milwaukee School of Engineering March 20. Sophomore Stephen Bonser had a complete-game shutout with four strikeouts and just three hits allowed in a 10-0 win over Dominican University March 17, and sophomore Taylor Berman improved to 2-0 with a complete-game 7-3 win over Milwaukee.
WUSTL (10-10) returns to action at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, for a doubleheader against Illinois College.
Women’s tennis goes 5-1 during spring break trip
The No. 16 women’s tennis team posted a 5-1 record during its spring break trip March 14-17 to Orlando, Fla.
The Bears beat NAIA Oklahoma Baptist (6-3) and Division I Colgate University (7-0) in addition to picking up wins over University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (9-0), Berry College (8-1) and the University of Puget Sound (9-0).
Freshman Betsey Edershile posted a 10-1 overall record playing at second and third singles and first doubles while freshman Evelyn Qin was 10-0.
Senior Elise Sambol posted a combined 8-1 mark at singles and doubles and eclipsed 100-career victories with a pair of wins against Colgate. In her four years at WUSTL, she has a career record of 101-51 and is 50-26 in singles and 51-25 in doubles.
WUSTL (8-2) returns to action Friday, April 1, when it faces No. 25 Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.