At Nationals, the Bears did not disappoint as the women’s team finished third in the event. The team’s third place finish was the highest ever for the Bears; their previous best was fourth place. The performance was especially notable considering the team failed to qualify for the event last year. In 2003, senior Maggie Grabow was the only team member sent to the meet. Out of 24 teams, the women’s team finished behind first place Williams College and runner-up Middlebury College.

Grabow again led the women’s team in the meet, finishing 40th with a time of 22:32. Following close behind were freshman Tyler Mulkin and sophomore Elizabeth Herndon, who finished 42nd and 43rd, respectively. Junior Stephanie Felz finished 50th while sophomore Lindsay Harkema came in 107th.

Meanwhile, in men’s competition, Calvin College placed first and was followed by North Central College and Wisconsin-La Crosse in second and third place, respectively. Running individually in his first Nationals appearance, Reindl finished 55th with a time of 25:34.

The women’s strong showing at Nationals capped off another extremely successful season for the Bears. The women’s team captured the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship for the third year in a row while the men’s team finished second in the UAA. In addition to the women’s second place finish in the Midwest Regionals, the men finished eighth out of a field of 30.

With the women’s team returning their second through fifth place runners (they will unfortunately lose their top runner, Grabow), the squad can expect more of the same kind of results next year. Similarly, the men’s team will return its top two runners Reindl and junior Brennan Bonner.

With wins this weekend over Calvin College and 20th-ranked Elmhurst College, the sixth-ranked Bears volleyball team improved their season record to 30-6, captured the NCAA Central Region Championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals. Both matches were played in Pella, Iowa.

In their opening match against Calvin, the Bears defeated their opponent 3-1. The Bears were led by senior Colleen Winter who posted 15 kills in the match. They followed that up with a dominating performance against Elmhurst, defeating them 3-0. Bears Coach Rich Luenemann had expected Elmhurst to be a particularly tough opponent after the team’s convincing win over Central College on Friday.

“When I watched Elmhurst dismantle Central on Friday, I was concerned with our ability to defend their quick offense,” Luenemann said. “That wasn’t a problem, as our serving and attacking forced them to run a high set offense, and our defense responded very well.”

Coach Luenemann credited the team’s decisive win to their execution and team play.

“The Bears played very well on Saturday. We looked sharp in all phases of the game,” Luenemann said. “Although it’s a clich‚, it’s appropriate to say ‘it was a team win’. We executed our systems very well.”

The Bears’ finely tuned attack was evidenced by their .352 team hitting percentage-the eighth-best post-season offensive performance in team history. Freshman Emilie Walk had a team-best 12 kills in the match.

The Bears weekend wins sets them up for a quarterfinals matchup with 14th-ranked University of Wisconsin-La Crosse this Saturday. The Bears previously faced off against La Crosse at the Washington University Midwest Classic. The Bears defeated La Crosse 3-0, but Luenemann stressed that La Crosse is a strong opponent and that both squads are much improved since their earlier meeting. Additionally, the teams’ earlier match was played nearby at Fontbonne College while their pending meeting will be played on La Crosse’s home turf.

“La Crosse is a strong opponent. They can attack from anywhere along the net. We’ll need to do the same. Our ball control and blocking will be the keys to the match,” Luenemann said. “We beat them 3-0 last time. But I hear they’ve greatly improved, but so have we.”

Heading into the match Luenemann said the team’s focus will be on fine-tuning team play, as well as continuing to hone individual skills.

“Our focus in practice for the remainder of the season will be to continue to work to enhance the efficiency and execution of our systems of play,” Luenemann said. “The players will also be challenged to improve each aspect of their games.”

Additionally, Luenemann will spend plenty of time reviewing the game film from the squads’ earlier meeting. Luenemann was particularly proud of his team’s maturation this season. The team has been able to offset the loss of four starters from last season’s team and has improved more in one season than any other Luenemann-led team, according to the coach.

“[At the] beginning of the year, we looked at the team and knew we had lost four starters. But when you lose four great players, four great players take their place,” Luenemann said. “This team has improved more in this one year than any other team I have coached.”

If the Bears win, they will move into the Final Four, which will be held at a neutral location for the first time in women’s volleyball history. For now, though, the team and coach are simply focused on La Crosse.

“We’re excited to go to La Crosse,” Luenemann said. “Right now, the eight teams that are remaining are very strong teams.”

The Washington University women’s cross country team finished second overall on Saturday in the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships held in Rock Island, Illinois. Their second place finish qualifies them to compete in the NCAA Championships which will be held next Saturday in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The men’s team failed to qualify as a team as they finished in eighth place in the event. The men’s squad will have a representative at the Championships, however, as junior Greg Reindl qualified individually for the event with a ninth place finish in the men’s race.

The women’s team was again paced by senior Maggie Grabow who finished fifth overall with a time of 21:21.5. She was followed by freshman Tyler Mulkin, who came in 16th, sophomore Beth Herndon in 19th, junior Stephanie Felz in 26th, and sophomore Lindsay Harkema in 27th. Despite placing five runners in the race’s top 30, the Bears finished just behind University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point who captured first place in the meet. The Regionals send the top four teams to the national championships. which means that Wisconsin-Stevens Point as well third place University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and fourth place University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse will all be joining the Bears at the Championships. Grabow was ecstatic with the team’s performance.

“We knew that we had it in us, that we had the potential to qualify, so it was just a matter of performing,” Grabow said. “We couldn’t be more pleased. It has been our goal to qualify and we have finally fulfilled this goal.”

Entering the meet, the women’s team’s goal had been simply to finish in the top four in order to qualify for the Championships, so topping this goal by finishing in the top two was particularly gratifying for the Bears.

“We were looking to finish in the top four and to be the runner-up is really exciting,” Grabow said. “We like to joke around sometimes and say ‘Feed the Bears, we’re hungry.’ That’s kind of how we approached the race yesterday. We were hungry for the win. We had our hearts set on qualifying, so that’s what we set out to do.”

For these hungry Bears, the day’s superb weather as well as their excellent preparation helped make the race a proverbial picnic.

“We had ideal conditions yesterday; the weather was cool in the upper 40s-perfect for racing,” Grabow said. “The course was flat with relatively good footing, and Coach Stiles had us prepared.”

On the men’s side, the Bears’ eighth place finish was not enough to qualify them as a team for the Championships. The men’s Championships, which takes five teams from the Regionals, will take LaCrosse, North Central College, University of Chicago, Stevens Point, and University of Wisconsin-Plattevlle-the events top five teams in order. Besides Reindl, who finished ninth, the Bears also received strong performances from junior Brennan Bonner, who came in 22nd, senior Nate Quest, who came in 52nd and junior Derek Leidigh, who finished 56th.

For the women’s team, their upcoming appearance in the Championships will mark the fourth time the team has qualified for the event. The team qualified for the event three years consecutively from 2000 to 2002. While Grabow expects the race to be their toughest of the year, she was confident in the team’s preparation and stressed the importance approaching the race as they would any other.

“Nationals will undoubtedly be challenging. We’ll be racing against the best girls in the nation. Our fitness is at its best now-the hard part of the training is over. Now is the fun part,” Grabow said. “We have to go into it like any other race-have confidence in our training and keep moving up in the race. No matter how we end up, it is an honor to participate in the NCAA National Meet.”

The Washington University women’s volleyball team will head to Pella, Iowa this weekend to compete in the Central Regional of the 2004 NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament. Their entry in the tournament will mark their 18th consecutive tournament berth.

The Bears garnered the top seed in the Regional by virtue of their 28-6 record and number six national ranking. The team received an automatic entry into the tournament thanks to winning the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship. The Bears went undefeated in UAA play at 12-0. Their unblemished UAA record included wins over 11th ranked Emory University and a then number-one ranked and undefeated New York University.

The stakes are high for the Bears, who are seeking a record ninth Division III national championship. Behind the top-seeded Bears are no. 2 Central College, no. 3 Elmhurst College, no. 4 Nebraska Wesleyan University, no. 5 Calvin College, and no. 6 Fontbonne University. Thanks to their top billing, the Bears, along with Central College, will receive byes for the first round. Central brings a 28-8 record into the tournament along with a no. 12 national ranking.

With the bye in the first round, the Bears will play the winner of Calvin and Nebraska Wesleyan in the tournament semifinals on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Calvin is 27-8 for the season while Nebraska Wesleyan is 17-11. If the Bears win, they will advance to the Regional championships, which will be played on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The Central Regional champion will advance to the National quarterfinals, which will be played on November 20.

The Bears’ tournament appearance comes after another highly successful season for the team. After winning the UAA Championship, the Bears had five players win all UAA honors, with three of those players being named to the all UAA first team. Senior Colleen Winter and juniors Kara Liefer and Megan Houck all were awarded first team honors. Winter also won the UAA Most Valuable Player Award. Rounding out the Bears contingent of UAA honorees were junior Nicole Hodgman and sophomore Whitney Smith, who won honorable-mention awards. The final individual award given to the Bears was the UAA Rookie of the Year award, which freshman Emilie Walk added to the Bears’ trophy haul. Finally, Bears Coach Rich Luenemann and his staff were given the UAA award for Coaching Staff of the Year.

The Washington University women’s cross country team captured first place in the University Athletic Association Championships for the third year in a row while the men finished in second-place in the event one point behind the University of Chicago. The meet was hosted by the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY.

Running on a muddy course due to recent rain, members of the women’s team still made their presence felt in the event as they captured five of the top 10 spots in the race. Senior Maggie Grabow paced the Bears with a time of 23:25.40 to lead all runners in the event and finish in first place; Grabow also won the conference title last year. While Grabow was pleased with her own individual performance in the event, she was quick to credit the hard work of her teammates in contributing to her success at the meet.

“Winning the UAA’s is an incredible feeling,” Grabow said. “I couldn’t have done it without the help of my teammates. We have worked so hard this season.”

Behind Grabow were freshman Tyler Mulkin, sophomore Elizabeth Herndon, junior Stephanie Felz and sophomore Lindsay Harkema who finished in second, fourth, sixth and ninth place, respectively. The women’s team finished the meet with 22 total points to best second-place Emory University by 14 points. The Bears trailed Emory for much of the race, but were able to rally to finish on top. Grabow was proud of her teammates’ resolve to win the race.

“I just wanted to mention how proud I am of my teammates. We knew going in to the race that Emory was going to give us a run for our money,” Grabow said. “And they were definitely winning for a large part of the race, but everyone on the team stepped up, and we proved to them that we are a strong team.”

On the men’s side, juniors Greg Reindl and Brennan Bonner turned in the fastest times for the Bears. Reindl finished sixth while Bonner finished seventh with times of 26:25.00 and 26:36.40, respectively. Next for the Bears was senior Nathan Quest who finished 14th and junior Derek Leidigh who finished 16th. Despite finishing first, Reindl was less than thrilled with his individual performance, but was happy with the team’s performance overall.

“We ran a very good team race, our best so far this season,” Reindl said. “Brennan and I didn’t run very well up front, but everyone else ran very well.”

According to Grabow, the team’s strong performance overall in the meet is especially noteworthy considering that the runners had been training especially hard in recent days to record their best times at the upcoming NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. As a result, the team may have been somewhat fatigued.

“It is quite an accomplishment to perform as well as we did-we are training to peak for regionals in two weeks,” Grabow said. “So, we were running with some residual fatigue this weekend.”

The top four women’s teams and top five men’s teams from the Regionals, held on Nov. 13 in Rock Island, IL, will advance to the NCAA Division III Nationals Championships held the following weekend in Eau Clair, WI. Runners can also qualify individually for the National Championships. Last year, neither the women nor men qualified for the Nationals as a team but Grabow qualified individually. Still, Reindl offered an optimistic outlook for the Regionals.

“The women should be thinking about winning their region whereas we are just focusing on fourth-fifth place to qualify for nationals,” Reindl said. “We should have a good shot, as Chicago is the fifth ranked team in the region currently and we lost to them by one point this weekend.”

Grabow expressed a similarly positive assessment of the team’s chances.

“If we want to qualify as a team this year, we need to go into it with confidence in our training. However, we cannot just assume we will make it,” Grabow said. “We need to really focus on the competition, and try our best to move up as many places as possible. Coach Jeff [Stiles] knows how to prepare us well, so there is no doubt that we are ready.”

The Washington University women’s soccer defeated local rival Fontbonne University 5-1 this past Monday. With the win, the Bears are now 13-2 on the season. Fontbonne’s loss sends the team to 6-5-1 on the year.

The Bears quickly took a 2-0 lead in the game behind goals from sophomores Sara Schroeder and Malia Labadie. The Bears took that same advantage into the second half as they held Fontbonne scoreless through the first half of play. After holding Fontbonne without a point, the Bears replaced senior goalkeeper Charlotte Felber with fellow senior Casey Herrforth. Herrforth allowed a goal three minutes into the second half of play before settling in to shut down Fontbonne the rest of the way. Sophomore Talia Bucci, freshman Katie Campos, and junior Meg Lag all also scored for the Bears. Seniors Kara Karnes and Lindsay Ulkus each contributed assists in the win.

The University’s dominance over Fontbonne was particularly marked in shot attempts as the Bears outshot their opponent 32-2. For the season, sophomore Meghan Marie Fowler-Finn leads the Bears with 22 points. Campos, who scored late in the game, is second with 15 on the year.

The Bears, now winners of three in a row, will look to continue their winning ways this weekend as they face University Athletic Association rivals University of Rochester today at 5:00 p.m. and Case Western Reserve University on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in away matches. The Bears are 3-1 in UAA play this season. The Bears will conclude their season at home against another UAA foe, University of Chicago.

The University is currently tied for second place in the UAA standings with Emory. University of Chicago is in first place with a 3-0-1 record. The Bears would be guaranteed of at least being the co-champion of the conference if they are able to win out. Victory over these teams is by no means a sure thing though as Rochester comes in with a 9-3-3 record overall and Chicago is 11-1-2 on the season.

Rochester, like the Bears, is in the midst of a three game winning streak and is undefeated with a 3-0-2 record at home. Meanwhile, Chicago is currently ranked number 11 in the NCAA/Adidas Division III rankings, has not lost in seven straight games, and is also undefeated at home with a 6-0-2 record. A win over Case Western is a surer bet as Case is just 3-8-2 on the season.

Still, the Bears should have a good chance against all three teams. Currently, the Bears are ranked number one in the UAA in goals per game and are second in shots per game behind New York University. The Bears are number three overall in goals allowed per game. The Bears offense will definitely be tested against Chicago, who is second in the UAA goals allowed per game.

Bears fans can see the Bears for the last time this season against Chicago on 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6 at Francis Field.

The typically solid backline of the Washington University men’s soccer team proved to be its own worst enemy against 18th-ranked Wheaton College this past Saturday.

After holding the Thunder scoreless through the first half despite giving up seven shots, the Bears conceded the game’s only goal just after the halftime break. Following a scramble in front of their goal, junior midfielder Seth Barkett was the last Wheaton player to touch the ball before Bears senior Jeff LaBoskey inadvertently touched the ball into his own team’s net.

This disappointing turn of events summed up the Bears’ frustration on the day as they struggled to mount legitimate scoring attacks against a stifling Thunder defense. Freshman forward Elie Zenner was the only Bears player to get off a shot on goal, while Coach Joe Clarke’s squad only managed to compile five total shots.

Wheaton, on the other hand, applied solid pressure to the Bears’ defense all day and managed to pile up a whopping 15 shots on the day. The Thunder also dominated the Bears in terms of winning corning kicks, reaching a total of nine to the Bears’ two. The game would end with a final score of 1-0, but statistics indicate that the margin could have been considerably greater.

Perhaps one of the lone bright spots for the Bears was the play of senior goalkeeper Colin Robinson, who made seven saves in the losing effort. Robinson, who had compiled an impressive seven shutouts in the previous 14 days, looked to be in top form but fell victim to a crucial defending gaffe on the part of the Bears.

Apparently unfazed by the loss at Wheaton, Robinson came out strong during the Bears’ Sunday match against Dominican University. Stopping two shots, Robinson notched his eighth shutout of the season and was able to move his incredibly low goals against average to 0.53. Dominican, a tough opponent that has been ranked in the national top 25 on several occasions this season, could get nothing going against Robinson and the Bears defenders.

Dominican also had no answer for standout freshman forward Onyi Okoroafor, who scored the game’s lone goal in the 10th minute. Okoroafor received a pinpoint cross from speedy junior midfielder Andrew Franklin that he was able to redirect into the net with a header. The strike was Okoroafor’s second goal of the year. These tallies, combined with his four assists, are enough to place Okoroafor in the second position as the team’s leading scorer.

The Bears also got considerable offensive contributions from their substitutes, particularly senior midfielder Allen Gleckner and sophomore transfer Will Cockle. Gleckner and Cockle combined for four of the Bears’ ten shots on the day coming off the bench.

Joe Clarke’s team is back in conference action this weekend as they travel to New York to take on the 18th-ranked University of Rochester, who moved ahead of Wheaton College in this week’s national rankings. Despite their superior ranking, Rochester currently sits below the Bears in the University Athletic Association (UAA) rankings, with six points compared to the Bears’ seven. A win for the Bears against Rochester would help them gain valuable ground in the UAA, where they sit in third place, a mere one point behind leaders Emory University and the University of Chicago.

After facing Rochester on Friday, the Bears will travel to Cleveland to face cellar-dwelling Case Western Reserve University. If they take care of business against Case Western as they are expected to, they should have a legitimate shot at the UAA crown if Emory or Chicago slips up in the least. As of now, the Bears control their own conference destiny and will need a strong weekend of play to achieve their ultimate goal of an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Despite an interception-riddled performance from senior quarterback Adam Meranda, the Bears football team managed a 21-16 win over University Athletic Association (UAA) rival Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to secure outright their fourth consecutive UAA crown. En route to their four championships, the Bears have won 15 consecutive UAA contests. The win improved the Bears to 5-3 on the season, guaranteeing the Bears at least a .500 record with two games remaining. The game also concluded UAA play for the Bears, who end the conference season unbeaten at 3-0. Bears Coach Larry Kindbom was pleased with the win, particularly for the Bears’ seniors, who have been undefeated in UAA play throughout their Washington University careers.

“I’m excited for the seniors. They’ve gone through their UAA career undefeated. That’s a mark of consistency and dominance,” Kindbom said. “That’s hard to do that. My excitement is for them… It’s something we shoot for. It’s a goal on our board and we reached it.”

With the University receiving the opening kickoff, the Bears wasted little time in putting points on the scoreboard. The offense moved quickly and efficiently in the opening drive with Meranda mixing in short outs and screens and deep passes effectively. Junior Brad Duesing made one of the best catches of the game on the drive, catching a deep pass from Meranda to extend the drive on a third down. Senior Kevin McCarthy capped off the drive with a six-yard touchdown run.

Entering the game with the UAA’s number one rushing attack, CMU’s offensive strategy stood in stark contrast to the Bears’. While the Bears featured an aerial attack, CMU employed a methodical grind-it-out running game with limited passing. When CMU did pass, they often went deep-perhaps in an effort to keep the Bears’ defense honest.

Receiving the ball after the Bears’ touchdown, CMU was quickly stopped by the Bears’ defense. The Bears’ quick touchdown, followed by their even quicker stop, made CMU appear overmatched in the early-going. But a flubbed Bears long-snap on a punt attempt later in the quarter forced sophomore punter Chaz Moody to scramble back for the ball and barely get the punt off before being tackled. With excellent field position as the result of the punt, CMU seized the opportunity. CMU beat the Bears deep on a long pass to set up a touchdown run to tie the game. CMU scored once more in the first on a 31-yard field goal towards the close of the quarter. Bears’ sophomore defensive back Eric Elias broke up a near touchdown pass to force the field goal. Despite a near perfect quarter from Meranda, who completed nine of 14 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown, the Bears found themselves trailing 10-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Having rushed eight times for 35 yards in the first quarter, CMU continued to pound the running game in the second, rushing 16 times for 53 yards. But while the Bears’ defense bent, it refused to break. The Bears held CMU scoreless in the second quarter. Despite the relative ease with which the Bears moved the ball on their opening drive of the game, the CMU defense tightened considerably afterwards, showing why they were ranked 12th in Division III in scoring defense, allowing just 11.8 points per game. Meranda was frequently hurried by the CMU defense, which intercepted the senior quarterback twice in the quarter. With Meranda under pressure, the Bears resorted to some offensive trickery on one play as Meranda pitched the ball back off the hike to senior wideout Zak Clark, who threw an on-the-mark (if wobbly) pass to fellow senior Jeff Buening for a 39-yard gain. While that drive was stalled due to a Meranda interception, the Bears would end the half with the lead as Meranda connected with senior Scott Armul for a 14-yard touchdown pass on a later drive to make the score 14-10 at the half.

Neither side could get much going at the start of the third quarter with both teams going three and out on their opening possessions. Still, the Bears were able to pin CMU at its own seven-yard line on their second possession of the quarter. On their first play of the drive, junior Joe Rizzo dove to intercept a CMU pass and give the Bears excellent field position. The interception was the ninth of Rizzo’s career. The Bears ran twice behind McCarthy before Meranda hit Armul for his second touchdown of the game-a 25-yard scoring play. CMU later scored on a 10-play, 57-yard drive with all 57 yards coming on runs. CMU was unable to convert on the subsequent two-point attempt, leaving the game at 21-16 after three quarters.

Neither team was able to score in the fourth quarter, but the Bears aided their cause with two long drives that helped kill the clock. Still, the outcome of the game was never certain for the Bears as Meranda tossed two more interceptions in the quarter to bring his game total to six. The Bears’ defense, which held CMU’s passing attack to just 3-17 and 71 yards for the game and managed to stymie CMU’s potent rushing attack, can rightly be credited with preserving the win. Coach Kindbom noted that the Bears defensive game plan is always keyed in on stopping the run.

“Our philosophy is to stop the run. It’s the number one thing we want to do in every football game that we play. Everything that we do centers around that,” Kindbom said. “[Carnegie Mellon is] very good at both the inside and the outside run. You have to play a disciplined game against that kind of offense… Some of the best plays aren’t the ones that will show up in the statistics… We had to play good team defense and I thought we did.”

Senior defensive back John Woock led the bears with 15 tackles for the game while recording his ninth career interception. McCarthy led the Bears rushing attack with 24 carries for 68 yards. Duesing was the Bears leading receiver with four catches for 89 yards. Meranda finished the game having completed 22 of 39 passes for 289 yards while throwing six interceptions. The game, which lasted two hours and 50 minutes, was played in warm, sunny weather with a temperature of 76 degrees and with 851 fans in attendance.

The Bears will play next this Saturday at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, PA, with a 1:00 p.m. (EST) kickoff time.

The Washington University football team beat University Athletic Association (UAA) rival Case Western Reserve University 28-14 on Saturday at home. With the win, the Bears improved to 4-3 on the season and 2-0 in UAA play. The Bears have now won 14 straight against UAA competition.

The victory also marked an important milestone for Coach Larry Kindbom; it was his 100th win with the Bears. Coach Kindbom is 100-57 for a 64 percent career winning percentage in 16 seasons of coaching at the University. With a 28-30-1 record before coming to the University, Coach Kindbom is 128-87-1 for his career.

The Bears began the game with a score on their opening drive. Senior Kevin McCarthy scored the touchdown on a five-yard run. Looking to pad their early lead, the Bears were able to stop Case Western on their next two drives while putting up two more touchdowns on offense. For the first, senior quarterback Adam Meranda hit fellow senior Zak Clark on a 33-yard touchdown pass. On the second, McCarthy scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run.

While Case Western was able to score late in the first half, the Bears were able to limit them to just 82 yards of total offense while forcing five punts. The Bears closed out the first half with a 21-7 lead.

Early in the second half, junior Chris Finney recovered a Case Western fumble, giving the Bears the ball on Case Western’s own 34 yardline. The Bears quickly capitalized on their outstanding field position as Meranda connected with senior Rob Meyer on a 15-yard pass with 12:22 remaining in the third quarter. Fortunately for the Bears, that was all the scoring they would need to top Case Western. Case Western scored just once more in the fourth quarter to bring the game to its final score of 28-14.

For the game, the Bears dominated in total offense with 354 yards for the Bears, compared to just 187 for Case Western. The difference was particularly marked in passing where the Bears won the air battle 285-130. Additionally, the Bears’ run defense held their opponent to 57 yards on 33 carries. Senior John Woock helped lead the Bears’ defense as he posted a team-high nine tackles.

On the offensive end, Meranda went 14-27 for 263 yards while throwing two touchdowns. Duesing led the way for the receivers, posting eight catches for 140 yards. Clark, the author of the game’s second touchdown, had four catches for a career-high 100 yards.

For the season, McCarthy leads the Bears in rushing with 416 yards on 104 carries. He has three touchdowns on the season. Meranda has completed 114 of 218 pass attempts for 1381 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season. Duesing has continued his assault on the receiving record books, posting 40 catches for 568 yards on the year and grabbing five touchdowns. Clark is second on the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns with 16 catches, 235 yards receiving and four touchdown catches for the season.

The Bears will play at home against UAA rival Carnegie Mellon University at noon on Saturday, October 23.

The Washington University cross country team capped off an impressive weekend with a third-place finish for the men’s team and a fourth-place finish for the women’s team at the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale, Illinois.

Juniors Greg Reindl and Brennan Bonner led the men’s team, finishing third and fourth respectively in the 8k race. Reindl completed the race in 25:18.35 with Bonner right behind him at 25:20.69. Freshman Jesse McDaniel was the next fastest Bear, finishing the race in 26:40.33 for 23rd place in the meet. Sophomore Kevin Gale was the Bears’ last entrant to finish in the top thirty; his time of 26:43.81 was good for 25th place. All four runners recorded their best times of the season in the event with Reindl posting the fastest time this season.

On the women’s side, senior Maggie Grabow again paced the Bears. She finished ninth in the 5k race with a time of 18:16.09. Grabow’s time was her fastest this season and the fastest recorded by any Bear this year. Bear sophomore Beth Herndon was 18th with a time of 18:37.60. No other Bears finished in the top thirty, but sophomore Lindsay Harkema, junior Steph Felz, freshman Tyler Mulkin and junior Andrea Moreland all finished between thirtieth and fortieth in the race. Herndon, Harkema, Felz, Mulkin and Moreland all posted their best times of the season in the event.

The meet was a challenging one for the Bears as they faced off against Division I opponents including Southern Illinois (the event’s host), University of Illinois, Indiana State and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Southern Illinois won the men’s competition with Indiana State in second place and the Bears in third. The women’s competition was won by the University of Illinois. Southern Illinois was the runner-up in that event and Indiana State was third.

The team will next compete in the Millikin Classic in Decatur, Illinois this Friday, Oct. 15, at 4:15pm. They will follow that meet with the University Athletic Association Championships in Rochester, New York on Saturday, Oct. 30.