Sports update March 12: Baseball wins ninth straight

The baseball team pounded out 10 hits on its way to earning a 14-2 win in seven innings over Brandeis University at the University Athletic Association (UAA) tournament in Sanford, Fla., March 12.

After starting the season with three straight losses, WUSTL earned its ninth consecutive win to improve its record to 9-3 overall, 2-0 in UAA play. The victory over Brandeis matched the longest winning streak for the Bears since 2007.

The Bears are winning with their bats and have recorded 10 or more hits nine times this season. The team also is winning with speed. WUSTL recorded seven stolen bases in the game, bringing its UAA-leading total to 47 this season.

Following the UAA tournament, WUSTL returns
home for an 11-game home stand, beginning Wednesday, March, 21 against Webster
University.

Track has strong showing at Indoor Championships

The men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams had six All-America finishes and set three school records at the 2012 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships March 10-11 in Grinnell, Iowa.

The women’s team finished third overall, which equaled the best finish in school history, while the men tied for 18th, marking the third top-20 finish in school history.

Senior Tyler Jackson became the first men’s track & field student athlete in WUSTL history to win an individual indoor national title as he sprinted to a school-record time of 7.93 seconds to win the men’s 60-meter hurdles.

Seniors Erica Jackey and Elizabeth Phillips finished second and third, respectively, in the women’s mile. Both of their times also eclipsed the previous school record in the event. Jackey and Phillips also teamed up with sophomores Shannon Howell and Elizabeth Worley to set a school record and finish second in the distance medley relay with the fourth-fastest time in Division III history.

Sophomore Anna Etherington missed the school record in the women’s pole vault by just one centimeter, as she finished fourth in the event for All-America honors. Freshman Lucy Cheadle was WUSTL’s final All-American at the meet, as she ran the third-fastest time in school history to finish sixth in the women’s 5,000 meters.

Both teams begin their outdoor season by hosting the WUSTL mini meet on Friday, March 23.

Softball moves into national rankings

Fresh off a 4-0 start, the softball team moved into the national rankings at No. 23 last week.

The Bears suffered their first loss of the season, 1-0 against John Carroll University, but have since won three games. WUSTL is playing eight games at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship March 13-17 in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

After the UAA Championship, the Bears will play their first home games of the season against Augustana College and Concordia University on March 24.

Spring sports in full swing

The men’s and women’s tennis teams are in the midst of road trips to California.

The No. 14 women’s team has a 6-2 record, including four wins over ranked teams this season, while the No. 10 men’s team is 4-3 this season.

The men return home to host Wheaton College (Ill.) Saturday, March 24. The women will have a couple weeks off before hosting NCAA Division II University of Missouri-St. Louis April 3.

Meanwhile, the No. 2-ranked women’s golf team opens its spring season at the George Fox Invitational on March 16-17 in Peoria, Ariz.

Phillips receives NCAA postgraduate scholarship

Senior cross country and track & field standout Elizabeth Phillips was one of 29 female student-athletes awarded a one-time nonrenewable $7,500 NCAA postgraduate scholarship.

The scholarships are awarded to student athletes who excel academically and athletically, and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. They are given to 29 men and 29 women for each of the fall, winter and spring seasons, totaling 174 postgraduate scholarships each year.

Phillips is a biomedical engineering major with a 4.0 GPA. She is a five-time All-American in indoor and outdoor track & field, and finished 40th at the 2011 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship to help Washington University earn its first national title in program history.

Richter to play in Division III all-star game

Senior guard Dylan Richter earned a spot in one final collegiate basketball game – the 2012 NABC Reese’s Division III All-Star Game Saturday, March 17, in Salem, Va.

Richter won a fan vote on D3hoops.com to get on the roster for the All-Star game, which takes place before the Division III men’s basketball championship game.

Richter, the University Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the Year, averaged 16.4 points per game in his final season.