Volleyball finishes second in NCAA
The No. 4 volleyball team fell just short of winning its second straight national championship and ninth overall at the Final Four in Rochester, Minn., Nov. 26-27.
The Bears dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 1 Juniata College in the national championship match Nov. 27. The Bears scored the first three points of the match before Juniata rallied to take a 10-9 lead.
The teams went back and forth, with the Eagles holding on to take the first game, 30-27.
In the second game, Juniata jumped out to a 5-2 lead and extended it to 9-3. The Bears used a timeout to regroup, and embarked on an 11-5 run to tie the game at 14. Juniata then pulled away for a 30-27 win.
The Bears led for much of the third game before Juniata knotted the score at 20. The Eagles jumped ahead again and the Bears could never get closer in the 30-28 loss. The Bears finished 32-7.
Junior Kara Liefer and sophomore Whitney Smith were named to the all-tournament team.
The Bears opened the tournament with a 3-0 sweep of No. 3 University of La Verne in the semifinals Nov. 26.
A week earlier, the Bears defeated No. 10 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 3-1, in the quarterfinals in La Crosse.
Women runners make school history
The women’s cross country team made Bears history Nov. 26 in Colfax, Wis. WUSTL, which entered the weekend ranked fifth, outperformed its ranking and finished third at the NCAA Division III Championships.
The Bears bettered their previous top performance, which was a fourth-place showing at the 2002 meet, among a field of 24 teams.
Williams College took the women’s team title with 110 points, while Middlebury College followed in second place with 129 points. The Bears totaled 149 points. Senior Maggie Grabow paced the Bears, finishing 40th in a time of 22:32.
Junior Greg Reindl represented the Bears men’s squad. He finished 55th in the 8K run, clocking a time of 25:34 in his first NCAA Championship meet.
Women’s soccer team falls to Puget Sound
The No. 11 women’s soccer team fell to No. 6 University of Puget Sound, 3-0, in the NCAA Sectional Finals held at East Athletic Field in Tacoma, Wash., Nov. 28.
Puget Sound (21-1) got on the board first in the 11th minute as Kate Demers scored to put the Loggers up. UPS added another goal in the 32nd minute as Cortney Kjar scored her 22nd goal of the season on an assist from Gilly Trotta to make it 2-0.
The Bears advanced to the NCAA Sectional Final with a 5-4 win in penalty kicks over No. 22 Macalester College Nov. 27. Goalkeeper Charlotte Felber made four saves in the game, saving her biggest for the fifth and final shooter for Macalester.
Diving to her left, Felber touched the ball wide of the post, setting up the Bears final shooter. Sophomore Maila Labadie scored the game-winning penalty kick on the ensuing attempt as she drilled a shot to the right side past Macalester goalkeeper Louisa Bigelow.
Washington U. finishes the season 17-3-1. The 17 wins tie a team record set in 1997 and 1998.
Women hoopsters win tourney title
The No. 5 women’s basketball team won the Fourth Annual McWilliams Classic title, capping off a perfect 3-0 week. The Bears opened the week with a 92-56 win at Maryville University Nov. 23. Junior Danielle Beehler led the Bears with 17 points and six rebounds; senior Kelly Manning and junior Katie Benson each added 15 points.
Washington U. then knocked off Whittier College, 86-58, in the opening round of the McWilliams Classic Nov. 27 at the WUSTL Field House. Manning led the Bears with 19 points; sophomore Rebecca Parker and junior Alicia Herald posted career-highs of 13 points each.
In the championship game Nov. 28, the Bears beat Gustavus Adolphus College, 68-53, to improve to 5-0. Five Bears scored in double figures, led by Benson’s career-high 15 points.
Senior Leslie Berger and Parker added 14 points each; Manning had 11 and Beehler 10. Parker also notched a career-high 12 boards in the win, while Manning added a career-high eight assists.
Berger earned the Jacqueline Bickel Schapp Most Valuable Player Award. She was joined on the all tournament team by Manning.
Men’s basketball team loses two of three
The No. 21 men’s basketball team fell to 3-2 after dropping two of three games last weekend.
The Bears opened the week with a 90-70 loss at No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan University. WUSTL trailed 40-38 at halftime, but the Titans opened the second half with a 17-4 run to post the non-conference victory. Sophomore Brandon York led the Bears with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
WUSTL then posted a 1-1 record at the Mike Rokicki Community Vs. Cancer Challenge at DePauw University.
In the opening game, WUSTL fell to Albion College, 81-61. Senior Rob Keller led the Bears with 15 points while Hollins added 12 on 4-of-5 shooting.
Washington U. finished the week on a high note as the Bears posted a 94-53 win over Wisconsin Lutheran College. WUSTL opened up a 41-point halftime lead (58-17) and maintained that margin the rest of the way.
Keller paced WU with 11 points in the first half on 5 of 8 shooting. Hollins garnered All-Tournament Team accolades.
Swimmers, divers shatter school records
The women’s swimming and diving team put together a nice showing at the WUSTL Thanksgiving Invitational at Millstone Pool.
The Bears took first place with 972 points in a field of five, and in the process broke two school records. The men finished second with 836 points, just behind Lindenwood University (904).
Freshman Tina Deneweth broke the school record in the 100-yard butterfly, clocking a 58.64 to earn an NCAA “B” cut. Deneweth also contributed to the record-setting 400-medley relay team.
Classmate Meredith Nordbrock, junior Allie Boettger, Deneweth and junior Jennifer Scott combined to record a 3:58.21 in the event.
Freshman Ross Vimr clocked a team season-best 16:48.87 in the 1,650 free to help lead the men.
McCarthy, Woock academic all-district
Football players Kevin McCarthy and John Woock have been named to the College Division Academic All-District VII Football First-Team, as selected by CoSIDA.
McCarthy and Woock are now eligible for selection to the Academic All-American Team, announced Dec. 1 after Record presstime.
McCarthy led the Bears with 603 yards rushing on 164 carries and seven touchdowns in 2004. He has a 3.75 grade point average in physics and is a three-time member of the UAA All-Academic Team.
A team captain as a senior, Woock led the Bears’ defensive unit with 85 tackles, 15 pass-breakups and five interceptions. Woock, who has a 4.0 grade-point-average in biomedical engineering, was one of 15 football players chosen to College Football’s 2004 National Scholar Athlete Class.