Many students did a double take Monday morning as they walked past the iconic Bunny statue covered with a blue tarp after an act of vandalism committed on Friday night. Students walking to class got a rude awakening as they stopped in their tracks to read signs posted by Maintenance Operations on pillars around the statue.

With Brookings Hall as the backdrop, 184 runners, walkers and even a dog began a five-kilometer run through campus in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri. Started just last year, the now-annual Take Steps for Kids is fast becoming a tradition at Washington University. Over $3,750 was raised for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri in the event organized by the Washington University Running Club.

For 12 straight games, the Washington University softball team (24-6) could not be beaten. Then came unlucky number 13, a 4-1 loss, against Division II Maryville University on Thursday night. Co-captain senior Megan Fieser singled to start off the third inning before stealing second and tying the 58 steal career mark of Amanda Roberts (2002-’06).

The Hy-Vee Invitational in Grinnell, Iowa, on April 2-3 might as well have been called the Hy-Vee Home Run Derby. Washington University’s No. 15 softball team swept all four games as batters came alive. Wash. U. hit four home runs in one inning in a 15-0 rout of Graceland College on Saturday. “[The batters] worked the count well, found perfect pitches and just bombed the ball,” senior, co-captain Megan Fieser said.

Start with Washington University students waking up between 6 and 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning; throw in some cold weather in the low 40s, an overcast sky, strong wind and rain; add a combination of 400 meters of swimming, a 12-mile bike ride around Forest Park and a five-kilometer run.

Zero. That’s the number of errors the Washington University softball team committed in the last four games, in their doubleheader sweeps of Millikin University and Illinois Wesleyan University. That’s the stat that players and coaches are proud of. “I’m very, very proud of our defense, especially our infield,” senior co-captain Ashton Hitchcock said.

Several Washington University track and field athletes participated at the Rhodes College Open Meet in Memphis, Tenn., in which no team scores were kept. It was the Bears’ first outdoor meet of the season. According to junior Jess Londeree, athletes used the opportunity to see where they stacked up against their competition and set goals to strive for.

Women’s basketball emerged victorious from the Division III NCAA Final Four in Bloomington, IL this weekend. The no. 6 Washington University Bears defeated the no. 4 Hope College Flying Dutchmen for the national title. This video captures the team’s and the fans’ intensity from the beginning of the championship game to after the buzzer.

An 8-0 drubbing at the beginning of a tournament might spoil the weekend for many softball teams. But the No. 15 Washington University Bears did not let their Friday loss to No. 8 Augustana College get them down. Wash. U. recorded only one hit and three errors in the defeat, but Saturday was a different story for the Bears, as they toppled Augustana 10-8 in nine innings and thrashed Fontbonne University 14-2 in five innings.

Washington University’s women’s basketball clinched the NCAA Division III national title with a 65-59 win over Hope College in Bloomington, Ill. Players and fans alike shared their feelings and favorite moments with Student Life.