The men’s track & field team won its fourth-consecutive University Athletic Association (UAA) outdoor title, while the WUSTL women finished as the runner-up for the second year in a row on the final day of the 2012 UAA Outdoor Championships April 29.
The title for the men was the 15th overall and gave them a sweep of the UAA indoor and outdoor men’s crowns for the third straight year. It was the second outdoor runner-up finish in a row for the women, and the program’s 19th top-two finish in 25 UAA Outdoor Championships.
Senior Justin Pieper broke a 38-year-old school record to win the men’s high jump (2.05m), bettering the previous record of 2.03m set in 1974 by Bruce Crowe and again in 1976 by Kevin Muhm.
Seniors Michael Burnstein (10,000m), Ben Cutting (javelin) and Tyler Jackson (110 hurdles), and freshman Nick Alaniva (pole vault) also won individual titles for the men.
Senior Erica Jackey won two events (800 and 1,500) to lead the women at the meet. Freshman Lucy Cheadle (5,000), junior Anne Diaz-Arrastia (long jump), sophomores Anna Etherington (pole vault) and Shannon Howell (400 hurdles), and senior Molly Wawrzyniak (3,000 steeplechase) were also crowned UAA champions over the weekend.
Both teams continue their seasons by traveling to the Fighting Scot Invitational at Monmouth College on Saturday, May 5.
Men’s tennis second at UAA championship
The No. 17 men’s tennis team posted a 2-1 record and took home second-place honors at the 2012 University Athletic Association (UAA) ChampionshipApril 26-28, in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
The Bears defeated Brandeis University (8-1) and No. 13 ranked Carnegie Mellon University (5-4) to advance to the finals for the seventh-straight season, and 18th time in 25 years. No. 2 Emory University captured it 23rd overall UAA championship with an 8-1 victory over the Bears April 28.
Emory (20-0) gains the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, while WUSTL (15-6) will wait to see if it receives an at-large bid as the Central Region’s second-ranked team. The bracket will be announced on Monday, May 7, at www.ncaa.com.
Women’s tennis third at UAA Championship
The No. 11 women’s tennis team finished 2-1 at the 2012 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship to earn third place for the second year in a row.
The WUSTL women earned a hard-fought 5-4 win over No. 20 Brandeis University in the quarterfinal round, before falling to No. 2 Emory University 6-3 in the semifinal.
In the third-place match April 29, WUSTL upset No. 4 Carnegie Mellon University, 5-4. In that match, senior Natalie Tingir earned her 100th career victory with a three-set win (2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-5) at No. 1 singles, which was the deciding match in the Bears’ victory. Tingir became the 19th player in program history join the 100-win club.
WUSTL (15-7) will wait for the official announcement of the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championship bracket Monday, May 7, to find out whether its receives an at-large bid.
Baseball wins three of four; Rogalski all-time hits leader
The baseball team improved its record to 27-12 by winning three of the four games the Bears played last week.
In a tough 2-1 loss at No. 27 Illinois Wesleyan University April 24, senior Brandon Rogalski recorded two hits to become the all-time career hits leader at WUSTL. His two hits in the game moved him past the previous career record-holder, Cornell Foggie, who had 205 hits in his career.
The Bears played one of their best all-around games of the season April 26 to earn a hard-fought 7-6 win at No. 14 DePauw University. In the game, DePauw got runners into scoring position in the final four innings, but the Bears’ defense held the Tigers scoreless in those innings to hang on for the one-run win.
In the final inning, DePauw got the tying run to second base with one out, but senior Michael Fletcher picked the runner off at second and earned his first-career save by getting the next batter out.
WUSTL earned a pair of wins April 29 in Cedar Rapids, Ia.: a 5-4 victory over Coe College and 11-7 win over Grinnell College. In the win over Grinnell, sophomore Kyle Billig recorded two stolen bases, tying his own single-season record of 34 and moving him to within four steals of tying the WUSTL career record.
The team concludes its regular season by hosting Fontbonne University at 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, at Kelly Field.
Softball has six selected all-conference
The softball team had six student-athletes named to the 2012 All-University Athletic Association (UAA) Team.
Sophomore outfielder Maggie Mullen and senior infielder Corissa Santos were named to the first team, while senior outfielder Alyssa Abramoski, senior pitcher Olivia Cook, junior outfielder Ashley Janssen and freshman infielder Adrienne White picked up second team accolades.
The team tied for second at the 2012 UAA Tournament Championship in March with a 4-4 overall mark. The Bears (26-12) travel to Greenville College for a doubleheader May 1.