Bears by the numbers: Teams broken down for the fall season

Midway through the fall season, Washington University has seen its varsity teams prosper. The Bears are collectively off to one of the best starts in the school’s history, with six of seven fall teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. Student Life’s sports section took a closer look at the numbers behind Wash. U.’s strong showing in the fall of 2011:

No. 2 women’s and No. 4 men’s cross country
0.3: Number of seconds freshman Lucy Cheadle finished behind 2010 fourth-place UAA women’s runner Liz Phillips in the Washington University Big River Running Early Bird Meet on Sept. 3. Cheadle has been sidelined by a calf injury since then, but is expected to return Oct. 15 at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational.

3: Freshmen among the top six men’s runners in the last two meets—the Greater Louisville Classic (Oct. 1) and the Wheaton College Invitational (Sept. 24).

25: Combined number of Division I teams defeated by Wash. U.’s men’s and women’s runners at the Greater Louisville Classic.

No. 2 volleyball
.314: Wash. U. volleyball team’s hitting percentage, second in Division III behind Maine Maritime Academy.
7: The number of sets the team needs to win to reach 58 straight-set victories, a Division III record.
12.98: The team’s assists per set, tops in the nation.

No. 9 women’s soccer
8: Number of goals needed by freshman Anna Zambricki to tie the school record of 17 goals by a freshman, set by Rachel Sweeney in 1996. Zambricki has nine goals through 10 games this season.
25: National rank, in goals per game, out of 342 teams in Division III, the highest in the University Athletic Association.
37: Goals scored this season by the women’s soccer team, already more than in nine of the 21 seasons since the program’s inception.

No. 9 men’s soccer
4: The highest ranking achieved by the men’s team this season, also the highest in school history.
5: Number of consecutive games in which senior Dylan Roman scored, spanning a 2-1 victory over Central College on Sept. 3 through a 3-1 win over Greenville College on Sept. 17.
438: Minutes the Bears held opponents scoreless, dating from the 12th minute against Central to the 90th minute against Greenville.

No. 3 women’s golf
74.13: Average score for freshman Olivia Lugar, the lowest in Division III women’s golf. Lugar has won three of the four tournaments this season and finished tied for second in the fourth.
308.25: Average score for the women’s golf team as a whole, the lowest for any team in Division III, four strokes lower than top-ranked and 23-time (including 14 consecutive) NCAA champion Methodist University.
3: Times this season that the Bears have shot 300 or lower as a team, including a team-record of 291 in the first round of the Millikin Fall Classic on Sept. 24.

Football
3: Touchdowns caught in a game by senior tight end Phill Stoecker on Sept. 3 against Knox College, a 28-10 victory, and by senior wide receiver Easton Knott in a 48-21 win over Rhodes College on Sept. 10.
27: Total tackles, including four for loss, by senior linebacker and leading tackler Nick Hillard.
38: Bears’ rank in total defense out of 239 teams in Division III. The team is giving up just 276.25 yards per game.