Sports update Oct. 3: Volleyball remains undefeated; closes in on history books

The No. 2 volleyball team wrapped up an historic weekend of completion by posting a 3-0 record in the first University Athletic Association round robin of the season Oct. 1-2 at Field House.

The Bears swept all three opponents over the weekend to set a new school record by winning their 51st consecutive set. The previous record of 48 straight sets came during the 1996 season. WUSTL now only trails the all-time Division III record of 57-straight sets by six.

There was also an individual milestone set with senior middle hitter Lauren Budde becoming just the eighth student-athlete in school history and first middle hitter to reach 1,000-career kills and digs.

Budde eclipsed 1,000 kills Sept. 17 and with four digs in the win over New York Oct. 2 notched the 1,000th dig of her career. Budde leads the team with 198 kills and 45 total blocks this year, and ranks second with 154 digs.

Washington U. (17-0) returns to action for the Washington University Invitational Oct. 7-8. The Bears face Fontbonne University at 5:15 p.m. Oct. 7 and Millikin University at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8

Cross Country competes in Louisville Classic

The men’s and women’s cross country teams both turned in strong performances at the 10th Annual Greater Louisville Classic Oct. 1 at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.

The women’s team placed 13th in a field of 30 different schools in the 5K gold race comprised mostly of NCAA Division I competition, posting a team score of 351 points. The Bears’ men’s team also raced against primarily Division I opponents and finished 14th in a field of 29 teams in the men’s top 8K race with 399 points.

Seniors Liz Phillips and Erica Jackey each finished in the top 50 in a field of 351 competitors in the women’s race. Phillips came in 40th overall with a time of 17:52.48, while Jackey placed 43rd with a time of 17:54.58.

Senior Michael Burnstein paced the men’s squad by finishing 32nd overall. The men’s 8K field consisted of 240 student-athletes and Burnstein ran the course in 24:44.13.

Both teams have a week off before returning to action Oct. 15 at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational in Oshkosh, Wis., which is their final warm-up before the 2011 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships.

Women’s soccer improves to 10-1

The No. 12 women’s soccer team improved its overall record to 10-1 with three home victories last week.

The Bears began the week with a 3-0 victory over Fontbonne University Sept. 26. Sophomore Lauren Steimle scored two goals and junior Allie Betley added a tally in the win.

WUSTL erased a one-goal deficit with four unanswered tallies in the first half en route to a 4-1 win over No. 11 Illinois Wesleyan University. Senior Alyssa Marulli scored a goal and added an assist, while freshman Lillie Toapsern also scored two first-half goals to up her total to five.

The Bears closed out the week with a 3-0 victory over Carnegie Mellon University Oct. 2 in the conference opener for both teams. WUSTL broke open a 0-0 halftime score with three goals in the second half. Freshman Anna Zambricki scored a goal and added an assist in the win. Sophomore Jen Reed and Steimle also dded goals in the victory.

WUSTL (10-1, 1-0 UAA) plays its final nonconference game of the season at home at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, against Webster University.

Men’s soccer improves to 9-1

The No. 9 men’s soccer team posted a 2-0 record last week, defeating Fontbonne University 2-0 Sept. 28, and picking up a 4-1 win over Carnegie Mellon University in its 2011 University Athletic Association (UAA) opener Oct. 2.

Junior Zachary Query and Jeremy Kirkwood each scored a goal in the win over Fontbonne. The Red and Green faced a 1-0 deficit in the first half against Carnegie Mellon, but senior Cody Costakis tied the game at 1 seven minutes before the end of the half and senior Pat McLean scored twice in the first 5:30 minutes of the second period to put the Bears comfortably ahead 3-1. Kirkwood added an insurance goal in the 88th minute to account for the final score.

WUSTL (9-1, 1-0 UAA) returns to action at Saturday, Oct. 8, in a road game at Emory University.

Women’s tennis completes fall season

The women’s tennis team competed at the 2011 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Fall Regionals Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Kalamazoo, Mich.

The Bears had three student-athletes advance to the third round of the main singles draw while sophomore Corinne Rauck won the Kalamazoo Open, which was run in conjunction with the main ITA Tournament.

Rauck won five-straight matches over three days to claim the Kalamazoo Open title. She received a first-round bye before going on the five-match streak, winning four of the five contests in a third-set tiebreaker. Rauck defeated DePauw University’s Katie Regan 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 (7-3) in the championship match.

Sophomore Evelyn Qin, senior Natalie Tingir and sophomore Theresa Petraskova each won two singles matches before falling in the third round of the main ITA singles tournament.

WUSTL had three student-athletes in the Kalamazoo Open Doubles consolation bracket. After dropping a match in the first round of the tournament, juniors Paige Madara and Katie Helfgott won four-straight matches to capture the consolation title.

That was the final competition for the team this fall. WUSTL will launch into its full spring schedule March 2-4, 2012, by competing in the ITA National Indoor Championship, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.

Swimming and diving swept by SLU in opener

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams hosted NCAA Division I Saint Louis University in its season opener Sept. 30 at the Millstone Pool in St. Louis.

The Billikens picked up a 143-96 victory in the men’s contest and won the women’s head-to-head 152-87. The WUSTL women’s team saw strong performances out of a pair of relay teams while the men’s team had a pair of freshmen turn in strong individual swims.

Freshman Luke Dobben won the men’s 1,000-yard race with a time of 10:03.42, defeating senior Chris Valach who was the runner-up with a mark of 10:11.74. First-year swimmer Zane Turpin won the men’s 500-yard freestyle (4:49.96) and was also the runner-up in the 100-yard butterfly (53.21). Sophomore Jason Wan took first in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing in 55.26.

The women’s squad posted first-place finishes in the 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relays. Sophomore Chi Pham, senior Catherine Rafferty-Millett, junior Meghan Powers and sophomore Allison Siegel comprised the winning 200-medley team (1:52.12). Freshman Jennifer Tartavull, sophomore Paige VanTassell, sophomore Katie Bush and junior Veronica Tse posted a win in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:42.75) and Tartavull added an individual victory in the 100-yard freestyle (55.16).

Both teams return to action Saturday, Oct. 8, for the University of Missouri Show-Me Showdown in Columbia, Mo.

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