Looking back, looking forward: Wash. U. weekend sports at a glance

| Senior Sports Editor

The spring sports season has passed its midpoint, with a little less than a month left for most of Washington University’s teams. This weekend offers plenty of Red and Green on the docket, with only the No. 18 baseball team out of action. Let’s take a look at the other five Bears teams playing this weekend.

SOFTBALL

The Wash. U. softball team bounced back for a well-deserved four-game split with Emory University last weekend. Now 13-6, the Bears will take on the University of Chicago for the first time in a decade with doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. Head coach Michelle Venturella, in her first season at Wash. U., has a 208-211 career record, including eight seasons at the University of Illinois at Chicago, so with a sweep, she can flip her record from the red to the green. Meanwhile, senior Hannah Mehrle, who picked up six hits last weekend to reach 201 for her career, can inch closer to Maggie Mullen’s Wash. U. record of 221 with another big series.

WOMEN’s TENNIS

After having last weekend off, the No. 10 women’s team hits the road again this week, traveling to Madison, WI to participate in the Midwest Invite. The Bears will face a pair of ranked teams in a Saturday doubleheader, facing No. 23 Hope College in the morning, and then No. 36 Gustavus Adolphus College in the afternoon. Senior Rebecca Ho will look to continue her stellar swan song this weekend. She has a 20-2 record in singles this season, putting her career wins total at 169, 14 shy of Debbie Michelson’s all-time school record of 183.

MEN’S TENNIS

The No. 6 men’s tennis team rolled off five straight victories since losing to the then-No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps team, who have since climbed to No. 2, including three versus ranked squads. The Bears will take on Millikin University in their first home match of the season on Thursday and will host Division II No. 20 Southwest Baptist University Saturday afternoon. Junior first singles Johnny Wu, No. 43 has rebounded individually since losing three consecutive matches in mid-March, including a three-set victory over Division II’s No. 39 player last week.

GOLF

This Saturday and Sunday, the No. 17 women’s golf team hosts the Wash. U. Spring Invite in St. Louis. Freshman Samantha Haubenstock leads the Bears into the season’s penultimate match after winning the individual title at the Joe Duncan Rhodes Invitational two weeks ago in Memphis, Tenn. Haubenstock, the University Athletic Association (UAA) Freshman of the Year, also nabbed her fourth UAA Athlete of the Week honor with the performance.

TRACK AND FIELD

Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams are off to impressive starts in the outdoor season, placing first in both the Wash. U. Invite last week, and the Wash. U. mini-meet the week before. The Bears stay local again this week, participating in the Saint Louis University Invite.

The meet is their penultimate tune-up before championship season, with the UAA Outdoor Championships starting April 22 and the NCAA Outdoor Championships following a month later.

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