Swimming & diving competes at NCAA championship meet
The men’s swimming & diving team captured 16th place and the women finished 24th at the 2011 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships March 23-26 in Knoxville, Tenn.
The men’s team ended the four-day championship meet with a score of 76 points, securing its ninth straight top-20 finish. The WUSTL women tallied a four-day score of 30 points to place in the top 25 for the ninth straight season.
The Bears broke several school records at the four-day national championship meet. Freshman Chi Pham broke the women’s 100-yard backstroke record with a fifth-place finish (56.09) and senior Kartik Anjur broke the men’s 100-yard backstroke record, placing 10th (49.85).
Sophomore Brendan Morin finished 13th in the men’s 100-yard butterfly with a record-breaking time of 49.54, and Anjur, freshman Brian Carpenter, Morin and senior David Chao broke the 200-medley relay record with a ninth-place finish and a time of 1:31.95.
The men’s team also garnered All-America finishes in the 400-free relay (9th, 3:02.01), the 800-free relay (9th, 6:42.62) and in the 100-yard freestyle, where Chao placed 12th in 45.28.
Softball sweeps doubleheader from Blackburn
The softball team picked up a doubleheader sweep over Blackburn College March 23. The Bears posted a 16-2 five-inning victory in in game one, and followed with a 10-5 win in game two.
WUSTL recorded 34 hits in the two-game sweep, and hit .540 as a team. The Bears also had 12 extra-base hits, including five home runs.
Sophomore Ashley Janssen went 5-for-5 with five runs scored and was on base all seven at-bats in the wins, upping her average to .433. Junior Alyssa Abramoski also had a nice day at the plate extending her hitting streak to 11 games going 4-for-6 with two doubles and three RBIs. Freshman Maggie Mullen was 4-or-7 with two home runs and eight RBIs, while sophomore Alex Fjeldheim was 4-for-7 with two doubles and senior Ally Berenter was 3-for-7 with two home runs and three RBIs.
WUSTL (16-5-1) returns to action Friday and Saturday, April 1 and 2, at the Hy-Vee Classic in Grinnell, Iowa. The Bears take on Simpson College at 11 a.m. and No. 10 Central College at 1p.m. April 1, followed by a 10 a.m. doubleheader with host Grinnell College April 2.
Men’s tennis 2-1 during Texas road trip
The No. 5 men’s tennis team won two of three matches against top-15 opponents during a four-day road trip to Texas.
The Bears opened with back-to-back 5-4 victories over No. 6 California-Santa Cruz and No. 11 Trinity March 25 and 26. WUSTL’s four-game winning streak came to an end March 27 following a 6-3 loss to No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.
Sophomore Kareem Farah posted a 4-2 overall record during the three-match swing, going 2-1 with junior Cameron Chiang at No. 2 doubles and 2-1 at No. 4 singles.
WUSTL (8-3) takes on its 10th straight ranked opponent Saturday, April 2, as the Bears host No. 16 University of Chicago. Doubles play is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the Tao Tennis Center.
Weather shortens baseball’s week
The baseball team had four games cancelled over the weekend but managed to post a 3-1 record in a pair of doubleheaders earlier in the week.
WUSTL split a pair of games with Illinois College March 22 before sweeping a twinbill with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville March 24.
Senior first baseman Matt Skinner led the team offensively, hitting .727 with a 1.364 slugging percentage while recording eight RBIs, four doubles and a home run.
Sophomore Taylor Berman and sophomore Stephen Bonser each picked up a complete game win. Berman scattered six hits over seven scoreless innings with six strikeouts in a 12-0 win over Wisconsin-Platteville while Bonser game up just two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts in a 7-2 victory over Illinois College.
WUSTL (13-11) returns to action at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, when it travels to Decatur, Ill. for a single game against Millikin University.
Women’s golf 11th at Northern Kentucky Invitational
The No. 5 women’s golf team opened the spring season with an 11th place finish at the Northern Kentucky University Spring Invitational March 26.
WUSTL had three top 50 finishers in a field of 129 competitors. Sophomore Hannah Buck rallied from an opening round of 84 to post a 76 in round two to tie for 25th place (+16, 160). Freshmen Andrea Hibbert (84-81, 165, 46th place) and Allyson Chee (86-81, 167, 50th place) also finished in the top 50.
The 81 by Chee in the second round tied for a career-low. Also competing for WUSTL was junior Katie Homa (84-88, 172, 68th place), freshman Marcy Koonce (91-81, 172, 68th place) and sophomore Melanie Walsh (90-88, 178, 93rd place).
WUSTL returns to the course on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3, at the Illinois College Spring Tourney in Jacksonville, Ill.
Track & field opens outdoor season with WUSTL Mini Meet
The men’s and women’s track and field teams opened their 2011 outdoor seasons with the Washington University Mini Meet March 25 at Bushyhead Track.
The women’s team took first place in four events while the men’s team grabbed first in seven separate events.
Junior Tyler Jackson swept the top spot in the men’s 110 and 400-meter hurdles, posting first-place times of 15.40 and 57.34 respectively. In the distance events, senior Dave Spandorfer won the 1,500-meter (4:03.07) and junior Nick Carroll finished first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:02.43).
For the women’s team, junior Erica Jackey won the 1,500-meter with a time of 4:48.02, and junior Liz Phillips finished first in the 5,000-meter with a time of 18:28.11. Freshman Jasmine Williams cleared 1.62 meter in the high jump and freshman Anna Etherington posted a winning mark of 3.35 meters in the pole vault.
Both teams return to action this weekend when WUSTL hosts the two-day Washington University Invitational Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3, at Bushyhead Track.