Volleyball improves to 10-0
The No. 1 volleyball team improved to 10-0 following four 3-0 victories of top-20 opponents at the Washington University/Asics National Invitational Sept. 10-11.
The Bears defeated No. 18 St. Olaf College, No. 10 Carthage College, No. 9 Ohio Northern University and No. 7 Wittenberg University, all by a 3-0 score. As a result, the Bears landed three players on the all-tournament team: sophomore setter Marilee Fisher, sophomore libero Kelly Pang and freshman outside hitter Meghan Byrne.
While Fisher did an efficient job running the offense, finishing the weekend with 141 assists, she also made important contributions defensively, tallying 26 digs and on multiple occasions making tough plays to prolong rallies.
Pang averaged better than six digs per set and finished the weekend with 73 digs, including 27 in a win over No. 10 Carthage College on Friday night.
Byrne experienced a breakout performance in the front row, leading the attack with 45 kills over four matches, an average of 4.09 per set, while hitting .349 in the process. She saved her strongest performance for the tournament championship match against Wittenberg, where she scored 18 times with no errors, for a hitting percentage of .514.
The Bears return to action Friday, Sept. 17, when they travels to Greencastle, Ind., to compete in the DePauw University Invitational. The tournament will be highlighted by a showdown with No. 2 Juniata College Saturday, Sept. 18, which is a rematch of the 2009 NCAA championship match won by the Bears, 3-1.
Women’s golf second at Wartburg College invitational
Sophomore Hannah Buck fired a school-record 72 and claimed medalist honors to lead the No. 17 women’s golf team to a second-place finish at the Wartburg College Fall Invitational in Waverly, Iowa .
Freshman Andrea Hibbert shot a one-over 73 on day two and finished the 36-hole event in second place, with a two-day score of 156 (83-73).
WUSTL fired a 312 on the second day to finish second as a team with a 36-hole score of 661. Third-ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire won the 19-team event with a 648 (329-319).
After being disqualified on Saturday after not turning in her scorecard, sophomore Melanie Walsh came up big for the Bears the second day and shot an 81. Freshmen Allyson Chee (93-86, 179, 30th place) and Marcy Koonce (94-86, 180, 32nd) also turned in a solid performance as each shot an 86 on day two. Junior Katie Homa competed as an individual and shot a two-day score of 176 (90-86) to finish 25th.
WUSTL continues its fall season this weekend, Sept. 18-19, at the Illinois Wesleyan University Fall Classic at Ironwood Golf Course in Normal, Ill.
Men’s soccer wins 500th game
The men’s soccer team won the 500th game in program history thanks to a 2-0 victory over Rhodes College Sept. 12. Earlier in the week, the Bears defeated Greenville College, 2-0, and stand at 4-0-1 after two weeks of action.
Sophomore Patrick McLean and Zachary Query each scored in the victory over Greenville, while freshman Michael Flowers and sophomore Kenji Kobayashi netted their first goals of the year in the victory over Rhodes.
Through five games, Query, who missed nearly the entire 2009 season due to injury, leads the team in scoring with three goals and an assist.
WUSTL has scored 14 goals as a team, yielding just one goal so far in 2010. The Bears return to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15, against Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill.
Women’s soccer splits over the weekend
The No. 3 women’s soccer team split a pair of games at the Washington University Classic Sept. 11-12 at Francis Field.
Sophomore goalkeeper Clara Jaques scored the game-winning goal on a free kick from midfield and also made four saves in a 1-0 victory over Alma College Sept. 11.
The following day, WUSTL suffered a 1-0 overtime loss to St. Olaf College. Lindsay Howard scored the game-winner with 2.9 seconds left in the first overtime.
The Bears (3-2) closes out their five-game home stand against No. 24 Loras College at noon Sunday, Sept. 19. The game against Loras begins a stretch of four of the next five games against a top-25 opponent.
Football suffers tough loss at Rhodes
The football team suffered the season’s first loss in a 14-10 defeat at Rhodes College Sept. 11 in Memphis, Tenn.
Senior running back Jim O’Brien carried the ball 18 times for 88 yards, as WUSTL picked up 194 yards on the ground. The Bears had a 291-267 advantage in total offense for the game, and limited Rhodes to 104 yards through the air.
Junior linebacker Nick Hillard led the defensive unit with a career-high 14 tackles, while freshman defensive back Scott O’Brien added a career-best six stops.
The Bears travel to No. 6 Wittenberg University for a noon kickoff Saturday, Sept. 18, in Springfield, Ohio.
Tennis tournament renamed in honor of Imergoot
The first annual Lynn Imergoot Invitational took place this past weekend, Sept. 17-19, at the Tao Tennis Center and Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park. Graceland University and McKendree University joined Washington University in the three-team men’s and women’s field.
The annual fall invitational was renamed in memory of former women’s tennis coach Lynn Imergoot, who died July 24, 2009 in a car accident. She retired from coaching in 2005 and spent 37 years on the Danforth Campus.
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