Albers led the No.4 Washington University volleyball team with a career high 25 kills to a 3-2 come from behind victory over No. 6 Hope College in the NCAA Division III National Semifinal.

Freshman Kelly Pang bumps the ball against Carthage College in the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship match. Wash. U. advances to the National Championship match against Juniata College after defeating Hope College 3-2. Pang led the Bears with 15 digs. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

After taking control in the first set with a 25-21 win, the Red and Green struggled against the Flying Dutchmen. Hope set the tone early and maintained their leads in the second set (25-22) and third set (25-15). With Hope up 10-5 in the fourth set, the Bears seemed ready for an early departure.

But two Hope errors and a kill by sophomore Lauren Budde closed the gap to 8-10. Wash. U. continued to fight to knot the score and were stymied until an attack error by Drew Horst and back to back solo blocks by Budde and freshman Drew Hargrave gave the Red and Green a 17-16 advantage.

The Flying Dutchmen and the Bears continued to trade points until the score was knotted at 25. Budde made a kill and a Hope attack error gave new life to the Wash. U. offense as the teams headed to the decisive fifth set. Wash. U. and Hope had faced each other earlier in the season, with the Flying Dutchmen taking a 3-1 win.

Albers took control in the first set with the Bears’ first three kills as the teams traded points. Hope countered and took a 5-3 lead before Wash. U. battled back with a 4-1 run. The Flying Dutchmen took a timeout in an effort to regain the momentum but another attack error gave the Bears an 8-6 advantage.

A service ace by freshman Kelly Pang extended the lead before both teams traded points once more. Wash. U.’s offense stalled and the Flying Dutchmen strung together a four point run to put the score at 13-11.  The Bears used their final timeout and sophomore Kristen Thomas came out with a kill. After a kill from Hope’s Jacie Fielder brought the score to 14-12, the Bears capitalized on a setting error and clinched a spot in the National Championship game.

Pang led the Bears defensively with 15 digs and senior Laura Brazeal chipped in ten. Albers, Budde and Thomas had double digits kills with 25, 19 and 14 respectively. The team could not be reached for comments.

The Bears face No. 1 Juniata College at 7 p.m. (ET) in University Heights, Ohio. Juniata advanced after dispatching No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh In their last meeting, Wash. U. defeated Juniata 3-0 (28-26, 41-39,27-25) on September 18 in the Teri Clemens Invitational.

The volleyball team advanced to the NCAA National Semifinal against Hope College after defeating Colorado College 3-1 in the quarterfinal on Thursday. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The Washington University women’s volleyball team reached the NCAA Final Four on Thursday afternoon with a win over Colorado College (25-16, 23-25, 25-21, 25-14) at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.

The win put the team two more victories away from its 10th national championship. Senior co-captain Erin Albers and sophomore Lauren Budde both registered 12 kills for the Bears, while four players—Budde, freshman Kelly Pang, senior co-captain Laura Brazeal and freshman Marilee Fisher—all registered double-digit counts in digs. Fisher also tallied 42 assists.

Coach Rich Luenemann reacts after the volleyball team clinched the regional championship. The team defeated Colorado College on Thursday to advance to the Final Four. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The Bears committed only 16 errors in the match for a mark of four errors per set, their best showing in the NCAA tournament.

After controlling the first set and barely losing the second, the turning point for the Bears came in the third set. Trailing from the beginning of the third set, the Bears went on an 11-4 run at the end of the set to take a crucial 2-1 lead in the match. The Bears followed with a dominant fourth set in which they hit .484 as a team with only one error.

Prior to the match, Albers, Pang and Fisher were awarded American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American honors. Pang earned first-team honors and was also named the NCAA Division III Freshman of the Year, while Albers and Fisher both garnered second-team recognition.

Wash. U. faces Hope College at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Hope advances after a 3-1 victory over Tufts University. Hope handed the Bears their first loss of the year on Sept. 5 with a 3-1 win.

Freshman goalie Clara Jaques was recently named the University Athletic Association’s Rookie of the Year. She posted a .842 save percentage, a mere .015 points behind the league leader. Jaques has completed nine shutouts of the soccer team’s 16 wins. Over the weekend, Jaques shut out No. 21-ranked Illinois Wesleyan in an overtime win to lead the Bears to the NCAA sectionals against No. 24 Wheaton College on Friday.

Student Life: What has been the most memorable game this season?

Clara Jaques: I’d say the last game, against Illinois Wesleyan. To get back at them and kind of redeem ourselves for losing to them in the first game of the year, and to win it in overtime like that is pretty cool.

SL: How does it feel to be UAA Rookie of the Year?

CJ: It feels good. It’s awesome—the fact that I can contribute so soon to such a successful team is really cool.

SL: What has been, so far, the high point of the year?

CJ: I think we’re in it right now, like winning last Sunday and this week with the anticipation of going out to play Wheaton and just the excitement behind the team and the boys’ team coming out. Yeah, we’re in the middle of it right now.

SL: Speaking of the mens’ team, how do you feel about the [Head Coach Jim] Conlon Crazies?

CJ: They’re hilarious. I tried to keep a straight face when they came out with the new Frère Jacques. I laughed on the field in the middle of the game. I have a lot of respect for their rhyming abilities.

SL: What’s it like being a freshman on the team?

CJ: It’s awesome. There are 10 of us, so it’s kind of a majority compared to other classes. We’re just treated like anyone else. The seniors, juniors and sophomores are all so nice to us. I couldn’t ask for better upperclassmen.

SL: How long have you played soccer and been a goalie?

CJ: Since I was like 5…my parents made me. A couple years after I started, no one else want[ed] to play goalie, so if you’re at all good at it, then they make you keep playing. I think that’s the story with every goalie there is.

SL: Any team or personal pre-game rituals?

CJ: We’ve been really liking Olive Garden of late. We’ve eaten there three times. The endless bread sticks are a big hit. As far as pre-game rituals…well, Laura McGinnis has started to talk about how “no one dances in our W.” We have a little dance session [on the field before the game]. At home games we do the Wash. U. fight song that not many people know exists. I still don’t know the words. Caryn [Rosoff], a senior, doesn’t even know the words. We all just awkwardly clap.

SL: Any funny moments from the season?

CJ: Saturday, at halftime, Coach asked random people about good things we did in the first half. Then he’s like “Jaques,” and I’d been preparing in my head what to say to the question if he asked me. I thought he was going to ask me the same question, and he asked me a completely different question and I just screamed, “Shut out!” Everyone died [laughing].

Sophomore Michael Burnstein races at the Big River Running Early Bird on Sept. 5. Burnstein led the Bears to a third-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional and a berth in the NCAA Championship in Cleveland on Nov. 21. (Johann Qua Hiansen | Student Life)

Major: Urban studies
Hometown: Brookline, Mass.

After coming off bouts of both the flu and pneumonia, sophomore Michael Burnstein led the Washington University men’s cross country team to a third-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional championships this past weekend. At his first race in nearly a month, Burnstein finished 16th out of 282 runners with a time of 24:52.4. The Bears’ third-place finish earned them an at-large bid to the national championship meet.

Student Life: Take us back through regionals this past weekend.

Michael Burnstein: I wasn’t really sure how we were doing. I knew we were all running as a huge pack, which we had never really done before. Normally, we are all spread out, 15 seconds apart from each other, but this time, our whole top four was running next to each other. We ran by our coach with about two miles to go, and our coach told us that we had six [runners] in the top 40. That’s when I knew that we were doing big things, because we did not expect to be that far up.

SL: How big of a race was this for you, coming off pneumonia and leading your team to successful results?

MB: It really meant a lot to me. I did not know what to expect before the race. I figured…I’d either feel great or I was still going to be sick, and I was just going to bomb, but after a couple of miles, and I still felt pretty good, I knew I was healthy, and it ended up working out.

SL: What does this performance at the regional championships do for the team?

MB: It’s huge, I think. The team hasn’t made nationals in three or four years, and we’ve never been third in our region. This is the [highest] we’ve ever finished. We really have a chance to prove that we’re the best team to come out of Wash. U. ever, which is pretty incredible.

SL: Your team faced both the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country this past weekend (North Central College and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse). What kind of confidence does this generate, heading into nationals?

MB:  Just the fact that we were only 13 points, which isn’t very many, behind La Crosse University was just a huge confidence booster. Before the race, we pretty much discounted the possibility of us beating them. We figured, “All right, the best we can do is fourth,” and we ended up getting third and almost getting second. We have a lot of momentum coming into nationals.

SL: Regardless of how the team does at nationals, what does the future hold for this team?

MB: Things are looking really good. Not only do we have a ton of guys from varsity returning next year, but the great thing about Wash. U. is that we just have a huge program of guys that are all committed. We have 40 guys on the team. They could be on varsity on most teams around the country…so I think the team’s just going to continue to get better and better every year.

SL: What do you see as your own outlook?

MB: Personally, I hope I can continue to improve. I think I should. My goal is to get All-American this weekend.

The men’s national championship meet begins at noon (ET) on Saturday, Nov. 21, in Highland Hills, Ohio.

Senior John Hengel heads the ball in the season finale against the University of Chicago on Nov. 7. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The Washington University men’s soccer team ended its 2009 season on Nov. 7 at the University of Chicago. After finishing fourth in the University Athletic Association and not receiving an at-large NCAA tournament bid, games ended sooner than the close-knit group of players had anticipated.

“I think in terms of our win-loss record, [the season] was not very successful and not as successful as we hoped,” senior co-captain Nat Zenner said. “[But] we really became a family over the course of the year, and that’s something that I’m really proud of and something that in the long run is probably more important than the wins and losses.”

The Bears began the season with several ties, went undefeated for their first seven games, and received votes in the national coaches’ poll. For many senior players, an Oct. 4 matchup with Emory was one of the season’s highlights. The game was the first time in six years that Wash. U. defeated the Eagles.

“It was nice to do something the past six teams couldn’t quite get accomplished, and it was nice to talk to the alumni after and say, ‘We were finally able to do it, this is for you guys,’ because Emory is not the nicest or classiest team—at least in the past, they haven’t been,” Zenner said.

Later in the season, Wash. U. could not sustain its winning ways. After an Oct. 11 loss to Carnegie Mellon University, then ranked No. 3 in the nation, the Bears went on to lose seven of their last 10 games.

“We struggled with beating the teams that we should have beaten. We usually did well against the teams we were not favored against,” senior Ryan Grandin said. “We pretty much played to the level of the teams we played against.”

In addition to Zenner, a UAA honorable mention honoree, and Grandin, the Bears lose co-captain John Hengel and goalie John Smelcer. Hengel was the team’s leading scorer with seven goals. Players noted that on a team that struggled with scoring, Hengel’s offensive abilities will be missed.

“New goalie next year, new leading scorer next year, new captain center back, next year. Those are big holes, those are big go-to players,” junior David Klein said. “Give the ball to Johnny up top, and he could hold the ball and create offense.”

Smelcer ended his career at fifth all-time for shutouts, and the team finished the year with a .86 goals against average.

“Smelcer—it’s not just the fact that he saves all the shots, but he kicks the ball a mile, so there’s a lot to fill,” sophomore forward Patrick McLean said.

Zenner and Hengel guided the team along with junior co-captain Alex Neumann. Hengel expressed the importance of leading fellow players by example.

“I tried to not get heated in tough games and overreact to calls or anything,” Hengel said. “You set the standard for the other kids…Really, how hard I work doesn’t just affect myself, but it influences the team, so I always tried to work as hard as I could.”

Team members highlighted Zenner’s vocal leadership.

“Nat was always really encouraging, I’m going to miss that the most. If I did something good on the field, made a good pass, made a good tackle, he was always there,” freshman Brian Wright said. “He was always about positive reinforcement, which is awesome.”

Senior team members explained the importance of their soccer careers to their experience at Wash. U. For many, the team provided a support system and network of close friendship.

“I’m really close with the guys on the team, and I can’t imagine not having them, and I can’t really imagine not playing soccer because I’ve had such a passion for soccer my entire life,” Hengel said.

For the team members that remain, preparation for next season has already begun. The dissatisfaction of ending without an appearance in the NCAA tournament provides motivation.

“We’re already very motivated for next year; we definitely have our minds set on accomplishing those two goals that we didn’t reach this year,” Klein said. “We all have the team goals in mind, and we’re using our personal goals to reach those.”

Junior Caleb Knepper goes up for the lay-up with two defenders on him in the regular season opener against MacMurray College on Sunday Nov. 15. Wash. U. won 88-53 as Knepper pulled down a career-high eight rebounds in his first collegiate start. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

“It’s always good to get that first win under your belt,” said co-captain Sean Wallis, a graduate student. “We went out, we played hard, and we did a great job defensively, not letting them do what they wanted to do.”

Head coach Mark Edwards said, “We got out and competed. At times, we executed very well. We didn’t make a lot of first-game mistakes, which I was pleased with.”

Senior co-captain Aaron Thompson led the team with 24 points to complement Wallis’ nine assists.

“When you have two All-American guards that everyone is keying on, it’s pretty important that they are able to handle [the outside game],” Edwards said. “Aaron missed his first three three-pointers, and then he hit four in a row, so it didn’t seem to bother him too much.”

The team largely attributed their strong start to familiarity among the same group of players. Wallis, Thompson and fellow co-captains Cameron Smith and Zach Kelly are all returning starters who have played together for the past four years.

“With repetition, you start to know where people like to get the ball and where they are going to be when you make a certain cut,” Thompson said. “With that experience, it really helps.”

Junior Caleb Knepper, the only starter who did not start last season, stepped into his new role nicely, putting up eight points and grabbing a career-high eight rebounds.

“I think he did a good job,” Edwards said. “He took smart shots, good shots and got rebounds. That’s what we need from him.”

Despite a strong showing in the home opener, the squad was quick to critique their performance and talk about the areas they need to work on as the season progresses.

“We had a lot of good open shots that we missed, but that’s basketball,” Edwards said. “What you miss on one end, you have to make up for on the other end on defense, and that’s what we did.”

Nevertheless, the Bears took a lot of positives away from the win, and they expect to build on this performance for the coming weeks.

“Getting all 10 guys that we want in our rotation on the floor and playing with those rotations really helps,” Thompson said. “It is really going to give us confidence going forward, which is huge.”

The Bears take on Ohio Wesleyan University at the Titan Tip-Off Tournament next Saturday, Nov. 21, in Bloomington, Ill.

“Looking forward, there is definitely room for improvement, but it’s a good way to start,” Wallis said.

And that’s just how the team wanted it.

Senior tri-captain Erin Albers reached her 1,000th career kill while freshman Kelly Pang set a school record for digs in a single season. Both milestones were overshadowed by another spectacular weekend of play from the Bears as a whole, who took three wins here at the Wash. U. Field House in the NCAA tournament Central Regional. The Bears advance to University Heights, Ohio, with a chance to play for a national championship.

The Bears defeated Webster University on Thursday night (25-17, 25-14, 25-27, 25-15) and took out St. Mary’s University on Friday (25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22). With one win between them and a trip to the NCAA finals, the team saved its best performance for last as it took out No. 8 Carthage College in straight sets (26-24, 25-23, 25-12) on Saturday night.

“It’s fantastic. This weekend was very high energy,” sophomore Lauren Budde said.

Budde was the star of Thursday night’s game, as she racked up a career-high 22 kills to go along with 12 digs, four aces, and 1.5 blocks in helping the team dispatch of Webster in the first round. With the exception of the third set, in which the Bears were defeated 27-25, the team had jumped well ahead by the mid-point in each set and controlled the game.

Friday night was when Pang had her time to shine, as she registered 18 digs to put her over the school’s single-season high mark set by Nicole Hodgman in 2003. Her strong play helped the Bears through what proved to be a fairly close match against St. Mary’s.

Saturday night was when Albers reached her big mark when she put down her second kill of the game. After fighting out two very close sets against Carthage, the Bears came out firing on all cylinders in the third set, making quick work of the No. 8 team in the nation and punching their tickets to Ohio.

Some were very impressed with the individual records set by the team this weekend.

“When you get a thousand kills, that shows consistency,” head coach Rich Luenemann said. “For her to accumulate 1,000 kills for a middle blocker/attacker is an astronomical feat.”

“And how about Kelly Pang?” he added. “She set a record for digs in a season when it’s harder to accumulate digs,” referring to the fact that when the record was set in 2003 the team played more games in the season and played 30-point sets instead of 25.

But some players downplayed their individual accomplishments.

“To be honest, it doesn’t feel like a whole lot of anything,” Albers said. “This game is what we wanted and we came out here and got it, and that’s what I’m really excited about. Everybody picked it up tonight.”

“It feels really good,” Pang said, “but I think the win feels a lot sweeter because we’re one step closer to our goal.”

Pang, who led the team with 60 digs on the weekend, and Budde, who tallied a team-high 47 kills, were named to the Central Regional All-Tournament Team. Freshman Marilee Fisher was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player after setting 128 assists while also posting 17 kills and eight blocks.

The team plays Colorado College in the NCAA quarterfinals on Thursday at the DeCarlo Varsity Center at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.

“We all want to win for each other,” Budde said. “We’ve stressed that in practices. Play as one. Give 100 percent every time for your teammates. Everybody did phenomenal, and everyone did a great job taking their game to the next level.”

With additional reporting by Johann Qua Hiansen

Junior Alex Hoover opened the season with a 14-point, four-steal performance against Augustana College on Sunday. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Washington University women’s basketball breezed past Augustana College (Ill.) on Sunday in both teams’ season opener. Though the Bears seemed a bit out of sync throughout the game, the nation’s top-ranked team fell just one point short of doubling up the Vikings in a 71-36 victory.

“I was happy with the focus and intensity at the start of the game,” head coach Nancy Fahey said. “We’ve been working hard the last month, so it was nice to see them come out with that kind of intensity.”

Similar to last season, Wash. U. displayed the depth of its bench, as 13 players scored at least a point. Senior Zoë Unruh led the team with 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting, and junior Alex Hoover was the only other player to break double figures, scoring 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including 2 for 3 from beyond the three-point line.

“If one person is having an off shooting night or someone is getting blocked out, we’ve got four others on the court that can potentially score, so it makes it really tough to guard us,” Unruh said on the balanced offensive effort.

The Wash. U. bench scored 33 points, led by junior Kathryn Berger and sophomore transfer student Bethany Morrison, who scored nine and eight points respectively. Morrison, who played for Dartmouth College (Division I, Ivy League) last season, looked sharp in her first regular season contest, as she shot 3 for 5 from the field, including 2 for 3 from three-point range.

“You come in and have a lot of energy off the bench. It’s nice to get in and settle into your game,” Morrison said on her first basket. She also recorded an assist and two steals in the game.

Hoover opened the game with a layup, and the Red and Green poured it on, never relinquishing the lead. After missing her shot from the floor, Morrison sunk her first three-pointer of the day and first basket as a Bear to make the score 21-8. The Bears then built on their already large lead to take a 39-16 lead into the break. While Augustana fought hard and managed to gain 20 points in the second half, they could not contend with the balanced Wash. U. attack that scored 71 points on a respectable 41.4 percent shooting for the game.

The Bears’ occasional lack of communication on offense was compensated for by continuous hustle and dominating defense that held the Vikings to 23.7 percent shooting for the game and 15.8 percent shooting from three-point range. Senior Kristen Fox managed a team-high 11 points, but no other Viking scored more than seven in the loss. Wash. U. also forced 19 turnovers and won the rebounding battle 51-42.

While the Red and Green were heavily favored against Augustana, the team now faces possibly its toughest weekend of the season at the annual Tip-Off Tournament. Wash. U. will play No. 12 DePauw University at 5 p.m. on Friday on the campus of No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan University. The winner of the game will face the winner of the Illinois Wesleyan and Central College game on Saturday in the tournament final, and the losers will also play.

“It’s two top 10 opponents on the road, and it’s just a good weekend of basketball competition, and I think it, in the long run, is going to make us a better team,” Fahey said.

For Unruh, the game against DePauw is more personal.

“It’s pretty huge. We haven’t beat DePauw since I have been here, so it’s a big game for us,” Unruh said. The Bears have not beaten the Tigers since the 2005-2006 season and lost in the NCAA final to the Tigers in 2007.

Fans and players celebrate after Sunday’s NCAA Division III women’s soccer Central Regional final game. The game went into overtime at 0-0, with Hanly scoring the winning goal. The Bears will compete in sectionals versus Wheaton College this Friday. (Daniel Eicholtz | Student Life)

Francis Field’s atmosphere was electric and tense this weekend as Washington University’s women’s soccer team defeated both Webster University and Illinois Wesleyan University in sudden death overtimes. With the victory against Illinois Wesleyan, the Bears advance to the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen for the fourth time in row. The Red and Green face Wheaton (Ill.) on Friday, at a to-be-determined location.

“It’s really exciting. Being in a class that’s won the UAA every year and been to the Sweet Sixteen four years in a row feels good,” senior captain Becca Heymann said. “But we really want to win [the national championship].”

Wash. U. 1, Illinois Wesleyan 0 (OT)

In a game that was dominated by a midfield tug-of-war and defensive plays, neither team saw an opportunity to score until 15 minutes into the first half when Wash. U. had a breakaway. But the effort was for nil, as neither team found the back of the net until overtime. Both teams were in a 3-4-3 formation, packing the midfield with action. But the Wash. U. offense still found more success than the Titans, as the Bears led 6-1 in shots with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

Heymann was recognized by a lot of her teammates as being a standout performance.

Senior midfielder Elyse Hanly clears the ball during the second half of Sunday's NCAA Division III Regional Final game. The game went into overtime at 0-0 with Hanly scoring the winning goal. The Bears will compete in the Sweet Sixteen versus Wheaton College this Friday. (Daniel Eicholtz | Student Life)

“There were a lot of great, great efforts, [especially] Becca Heymann in the middle,” head coach Jim Conlon said. “Playing 90 minutes in the center mid and doing what she did laterally and vertically, she was special today.”

Sophomore Lee Ann Felder had a golden opportunity to score from a free kick a little over 17 minutes into the first half, but the ball ricocheted off the crossbar.

UAA Rookie of the Year Clara Jaques, a freshman, had her ninth shutout of the season.

“It’s awesome. It was our goal [to get a shutout],” Jaques said. “To do it here on our field is amazing.”

The game rolled into overtime, and the intensity on the field heightened noticeably. The two teams’ last meeting in the beginning of the season had ended in a Wash. U. loss. Halfway through the first overtime, senior Elyse Hanly received a pass from classmate Becca Heymann, who had dribbled around a Titan defender. Senior Caryn Rosoff had the hockey assist, getting the ball to Heymann off her heel while being tightly defended.

“Becca gave a great ball to right in front of the net—I just passed it in,” Hanly said.

Wash. U. 2, Webster 1 (OT)

More than 300 fans enjoyed the beautiful Saturday morning as the Bears defeated Webster in overtime. Scoring started quickly, as senior Carter Schwarberg had scored under four minutes in.

“I think Carter, as always, played phenomenally. I mean she got a black eye. She gets up and we look at her eye and [told] her go of off, and she’s like, ‘No, I’ll keep playing.’ She’s such a beast,” said sophomore Emma Brown, who made the All-UAA Second Team. Luckily for the Bears, Carter stayed in and scored under a minute after.

“There was kind of a scramble in the back, and the other team failed to clear it, and I got a good hit on it with my left foot,” Schwarberg said.

The Gorloks were able to stay in the game because of their goalie, freshman Shelby Wade. Wade’s seven saves came at crucial points within the game.

The men’s team also ran well with a third-place finish, but the team needs an at-large bid to make the national meet. Top-ranked North Central College and No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire won the meet.

Junior Taryn Surtees anchored the women’s team, placing second overall with a time of 21:06. Sophomore Michael Burnstein recorded the fastest men’s time of 24:53, good for 16th overall. All five point scorers for each team were awarded NCAA All-Midwest Region accolades for their placements.

Surtees was followed by sophomore Liz Phillips (seventh place overall, 21:42), senior co-captain Molly Schlamb (13th overall, 22:00) and junior Jessica Londeree (15th overall, 22:06). “For the women’s team, this race was a step in the right direction,” Surtees said. “It wasn’t perfect, but we had a lot of solid performances.”

The team’s national championship berth is its sixth consecutive and ninth appearance at the meet overall. Last year, the Bears placed 12th at the NCAA national meet.

Despite these accomplishments, “the story of the day was definitely the men’s team,” Surtees said.

Burnstein competed for the first time since recovering from pneumonia and still recorded the team’s top finish at 16th place. Junior Dave Spandorfer (20th overall, 24:58), sophomore Matthew Schwab (21st overall, 25:02), junior Kwin Keuter (26th overall, 25:08) and sophomore Malik Nabulsi (35th overall, 25:20) followed Burnstein.

“I think the meet went basically as well as it could have. We were hoping to get fifth, and we got third,” Burnstein said. “The two teams in front of us are ranked first and second in the nation, so that says a lot.”

The women’s team has been preparing for the championship all season and is ready to make a run at the national title.

“It works in our favor that the race wasn’t spectacular. This way, we go into nationals under the radar and with no expectations,” Surtees said. “Our job is to run as a team, and I know we can do that.”

Over 40 non-competing teammates made the trip to regionals to cheer on the team, which the runners say contributed to their successes.

“The meet was everything our team represents, not just because of the runners, but because of the cheering teammates too,” Schlamb said. “To have both men and women qualify for nationals in an atmosphere like that was incredible.”

“Our performance Saturday showed that both men and women are ready to have great team races at nationals. I can’t wait to see what happens,” Schlamb said. The national championship meet begins Saturday at 11 a.m. (ET) in Cleveland, Ohio. The men’s race, should they qualify, starts at noon (ET).