Nathaniel Margolies | Student Life

Junior Chris Castelluccio carries the ball against Carnegie Mellon University on Nov. 13, 2010. Castelluccio, Wash. U.’s starting running back entering the season, ran for 208 yards and four touchdowns last year.

Last season, the team finished with an impressive record of 7-3, scoring an average of 19 points per game and winning games against tough opponents, including Wabash College, Carnegie Mellon University and Case Western University. Despite the hype and expectation of a possible playoff berth, Wash. U. instead finished with a loss against the University of Chicago, ending the Bears’ chance at a championship run.

The team now hopes to rebound one year later by winning the University Athletic Association and reaching the playoffs for the second time since 1999.

“Our theme [last season] as a team was to finish every drill, practice, and game all the way. I think that was key in helping us win in close situations and defeat some of our toughest rivals,” head coach Larry Kindbom said. “We had two very close games [including one] against U. Chicago, and that could have made our record 9-1, but that’s the past…this year, we’re all in.”

The expectations of a playoff berth remain high as the coaches and players were impressed with how well the team played in a scrimmage against Greenville College on Aug. 27. The Bears won 24-0.

“I was really happy with how well we did,” senior wide receiver Easton Knott said. “We came out of the scrimmage 10 times better than last year and after watching the film, we have a lot to positive things to build on.”

Despite the few mistakes in the scrimmage, Kindbom, entering his 23rd season as head coach, was especially impressed by the speed with which the players executed each play

“The scrimmage was truly beyond my expectation this year,” Kindbom said. “Though there were mistakes, I want our kids to go out there and play at full speed rather than worry about making a mistake on the field. We’re going to practice through those mistakes and become a better team.”

According to Kindbom, the overall talent level of the team, across each unit, is the highest he’s seen so far at the University. With a high number of returning upperclassmen, including sophomore safeties Tate Byers and Scott O’Brien, senior linebackers Nick Hillard and Kyle Larkin and junior running back Chris Castelluccio, will try to lead the team to the playoff berth that they are all hungry for.

“This is the year,” Hillard said. “I really hope this is our time and, by the looks of our roster, I think we’ve got a great chance.”

Though the Bears have a schedule as tough as, if not tougher than, that of last season, the strategy for 2011 is simple: one game at a time. The Red and Green will have to win almost every game of the year once again, because of their small conference, in order to be considered for the playoffs. According to Kindbom, if the Bears can beat any of the top opponents scheduled, they should be able to take on any other team. Players, such as Knott and Larkin, believe that mental focus will be the key to winning each week.

“Physically, we are in great condition,” Hillard said. “But in order to have a successful season, we can’t get distracted and make costly errors.”

With former starting quarterback Stephen Sherman graduated, junior Dan Burkett will start against Knox on Saturday, while junior Adam Banks will play back up; however, Kindbom has not decided whether Burkett will be the starter for all of the season. Castelluccio will have big shoes to fill as he will start in place of all-time leading rusher Jim O’Brien, a 2011 graduate. Despite losing these valuable players, Knott believes that the situation is not a problem.

“Coach does a good job of getting young guys in and having enough time to adjust. When we do have guys that leave, we also have underclassmen ready to back up many of the positions right away. [It’s] just a matter of playing experience,” he said.

In spite of all the pressure of having a successful season, Kindbom wants his players to not only play to the best of their abilities, but also remember the fun in the game of football.

“We have to go out and show the things we’ve been practicing on during the course of the week and not worry about success or failure,” Kindbom said. “We just have to lay it out there and give it the best we can.”

Paul Goedeke | Student Life

Senior Spencer Gay gets past a Case Western Reserve University defender for a layup. Gay scored 22 points and blocked four shots in the men’s 80-65 victory on Sunday.

“We have a pretty physical team, and both teams tried to be physical back at us. They found out that we can handle it, and that made a difference,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “Our team is getting its pieces together; we just have to keep winning.”

Four Bears scored in double figures against Case Western Reserve on Sunday to power the team to an 80-65 victory. Senior Spencer Gay led the charge with 22 points and four blocks.

“We were struggling to work together and find our confidence, [but] it’s really coming along the last couple of games,” sophomore Robert Burnett said. “We’ve re-focused after a rough streak, and now we’re going after it. Our offense is coming along; it’s getting a lot smoother; we’re starting to find open men.”

The Spartans took an early 6-4 lead after sophomore forward Austin Fowler’s two three-pointers. Fowler, the leading scorer for Case Western, recorded 18 points but was limited for much of the game.

“We had a defensive game plan, and I think that our kids followed it very well,” Edwards said. “[Fowler] got quick shots when we weren’t ready for it, but after that, we tried to be ready for it.”

Gay’s three-point play with 16:28 left in the half gave the Bears a 7-6 lead, which they did not surrender.

After entering halftime with a 42-29 advantage, Wash. U. continued to push its lead. Two free throws from junior Alex Toth gave the Bears a 68-42 advantage with 5:56 remaining in regulation, their biggest lead of the game.

“I thought that [defense] was the key to the game,” Edwards said. “[Case] is a good offensive team, and I thought our kids competed very hard and had them taking bad shots…[and] turning the ball over.”

On Friday night against Carnegie Mellon, Burnett made his first career start in place of an injured Toth. Burnett recorded a double-double, picking up 12 points and 13 rebounds in the 70-62 Wash. U. victory.

“It was a good night. Coach gave me a chance to start, and I took advantage of it because I knew that it was my time,” Burnett said. “I was glad that I was able to come out and put up those numbers.”

Gay’s layup with 16:41 left in the first half gave the Red and Green a 7-2 lead. Gay led the offense with 16 points, while junior Dylan Richter scored 14.

The Tartans powered back, taking a 13-12 lead after two free throws five minutes later.

Senior Caleb Knepper hit back-to-back three-pointers off the bench to reclaim the lead for the Bears, who led at the break, 30-24. They opened the second half with a 9-0 run to put some distance between them and the Tartans.

“[Coming out of halftime], we were determined to knock them out flat,” Gay said. “The positive energy was there; we got big rebounds, and we got big stops.”

The Tartans slowly chipped away at the 15-point advantage, getting within two points of the Red and Green at the 4:54 mark.

With 54 seconds left, Richter found Burnett uncontested under the basket, setting up for a victory-sealing layup and a five-point advantage.

“Big Rob stepped up, and he filled a void,” Gay said. “He was a machine.”

With these two wins, Wash. U. moves into third place in the University Athletic Association standings (10-8, 4-3 UAA). Next, the Bears will hit the road for four crucial games, starting on Friday against CMU and continuing with Case Western Reserve on Sunday.

“We’ve got one goal at the end of the season, and that’s to keep playing. We know that we’re up against the ropes, and we’ve got to keep fighting,” Burnett said. “Every day, we come to practice, we fight hard and then we get ready for battle on Fridays and Sundays.”

Tip-off against Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh is at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Eric Chalifour | Student Life

Sophomore Kristin Anda advances the ball to the frontcourt against Case Western Reserve University on Sunday. Anda finished with 11 points in the Bears 80-58 win.

“It’s this time of year where you’re supposed to [peak],” head coach Nancy Fahey said.

A pair of strong defensive efforts led the Bears to a 61-39 win over Carnegie Mellon University on Friday and an 80-58 victory over Case Western Reserve University on Sunday.

The wins brought the team’s record to 15-3 overall and 6-1 in the University Athletic Association.

“I think we’re just finally putting things together and working really well as a team,” sophomore Kristin Anda said. “We’re getting excited about how we’re playing.”

The first half of Sunday’s game between the conference’s second and third-ranked teams played out very evenly, as the game’s first 13 minutes featured seven lead changes and eight ties.

The Bears and Spartans were tied 23-23 with 7:01 left in the half when senior and team-leading scorer Kathryn Berger took over. Berger, who had her 10-game, double-digit point streak snapped on Friday and had missed her first seven shots of Sunday’s game, hit three-pointers on three consecutive possessions, forcing the visiting Spartans to call a timeout.

“We can’t put all of the pressure on Kathryn, and we understand that, but it certainly helps everybody when she knocks down that flurry, and we got our momentum going,” Fahey said.

Out of the huddle, a layup by sophomore Kristin Anda and a jump shot by Berger capped the 13-0 run that propelled Wash. U. to another win. The Bears carried a 44-31 lead into the half after a leaping steal by junior Dani Hoover gave her a chance at a buzzer-beating basket that went in.

The Bears relied on their defense in the second half, holding the Spartans to 30.8 percent (8 for 26) shooting, including 1 for 10 from three-point range. The Bears out-rebounded The Spartans 22-to-16 and closed the game 11 of 12 from the free-throw line to cruise to their 38th straight home victory.

In addition to Berger’s team-high 19 points and Anda’s 11, Dani Hoover registered her first career double-double, with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

“The posts always get the box-out, so it leaves me to get the rebound,” said Hoover, who is averaging 8.2 rebounds per game. “And of course, my sister [senior Alex Hoover] is the point guard and is really great at dishing the ball…it was a team effort, but individually I’m happy with how I played.”

In Friday’s game against CMU, it was a huge start for the second straight game that made all of the difference. Wash. U. jumped out to a 22-4 lead and led 31-12 at the half, despite the team shooting a subpar 14 of 38 (36.8 percent) from the field on the half.

Superior play in the paint helped the Bears build their large first-half lead. The team gathered more offensive rebounds in the first half (14) than the Tartans did in the entire game (13) and finished the half with 22 points in the paint to CMU’s six. Five Bears picked up at least three rebounds in the half, with Berger and Dani Hoover leading the way with five each.

“We think [our interior game] is one of our strengths, so we’re trying to get the ball inside, and I think the kids have responded well to that. It’s a concerted effort,” Fahey said of the team’s strength on the boards.

Though CMU kept the game from becoming a blowout for most of the contest, a 14-2 run with 8:22 remaining in the second half gave the Bears the cushion they needed to close out the game without any trouble. Alex Hoover led the way in points with 12, while sophomore Annie Sayers picked up 10 points and eight rebounds. Dani Hoover continued her excellent string of games on the boards, picking up a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Bears head back on the road next weekend to face these two teams once again. Play will begin on Friday when the team faces CMU in Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. Eastern time.

“It’s definitely going to be rough,” Anda said. “We’re going to be on the road; it’s going to be at their court, and they’re going to be coming back strong because we just beat them, but we’re definitely going to have to pick up the intensity and be ready to go.”

However, a wide variety of bans exist at other schools, ranging from all-campus tobacco bans to the prohibition of smoking inside campus buildings.

There are very few campus-wide tobacco bans. According to Amy Heard, co-chair of the Undergraduate Tobacco Ban Task Force Committee, most schools with campus-wide smoking bans are public schools in states where there are already smoking bans on public property.

All universities in Illinois, New Jersey and Wisconsin have policies that prohibit smoking in all residence halls, dormitories and main campuses to protect students and staff from secondhand smoke. These bans are prompted by state laws, not school regulations.

The majority of smoking bans, however, occur on a much smaller scale.

Colleges across the country have had difficulties in enforcing the bans, and still, many schools continue to allow students to smoke on campus. For example, California’s Pierce College will not implement its smoking ban because of its budget.

Washington University in St. Louis
The University implemented a campus-wide tobacco ban on July 1, 2010. Prior to this policy, smoking was only prohibited inside buildings. The University is providing services to help students and staff quit smoking if they would like. Because of the ban, many students and staff have begun smoking along the borders of campus, and many students feel that the ban is not enforced.

Shortly after the April 2009 decision to enact the ban was announced, the Undergraduate Tobacco Task Force Committee was formed to decide how to implement the ban.
While the committee was aware that Washington University was one of the few schools with such a ban, they were not bothered by this fact.
“I think that it is a great public health measure,” Heard said.

The task force committee also presented a survey to students. It showed that more students were against the ban than the number of students who identified as smokers.
According to Heard, these students on campus who objected to the smoking ban were not against the campus-wide tobacco ban because many other schools do not have such a ban, but for their own personal reasons.

“I don’t think that the prevalence of the tobacco ban [on other campuses] really affected what [students who were against the ban] thought about it,” Heard said. “I never got the impression that it had anything to do with what other schools were doing.”

Heard is pleased with the results of the ban but acknowledges that there are still smokers.

“I think it’s kind of an eyesore to see the people lined up on Forsyth smoking,” she said.

University of Missouri-Columbia
In 2009, the University of Missouri banned smoking inside any university building or within 20 feet of its entrances. The university hopes to implement a policy that restricts smoking to designated outdoor smoking areas by July 2011 and prohibits smoking campus wide by 2014. The university is providing programs for students and staff to help them quit smoking.

University of Missouri-St. Louis
The University of Missouri-St. Louis has the same ban as the University of Missouri. However, starting in July 2011, the UMSL smoking ban will become more complete with a campus-wide ban. If students or staff are caught smoking, they will be referred to Student Affairs or Human Resources, respectively.

Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University has a policy that prohibits smoking within 20 feet of building entrances. In 2009, the school started to strengthen its policy. The university decided to ban smoking on campus except for certain designated smoking areas.

Columbia University
Columbia’s proposed smoking ban was not heavily supported—fewer than half of polled students supported the campus-wide ban. In the spring of 2010, it was voted that Columbia should not have any tobacco or smoking ban. Other options are still being discussed, including a smoking ban within 20 feet of buildings.

New York University
New York University’s current policy, which started this fall, does not allow anyone to smoke within 15 feet of any building entrances, exits or air vents. The university passed this ban in the beginning of 2010 after 84 percent of polled students said they favored the implementation. But some students and residents are upset and feel that the university does not have the right to decide whether people smoke on public sidewalks. Employees of the medical center can be fired for smoking repeatedly in prohibited areas.

Rice University
In August, Rice enacted a policy that stopped smokers from smoking inside any university-owned or leased building or in any open-air athletic or recreational area. People are still allowed to smoke when they are at least 25 feet away from any building entrance or exit or in a designated outdoor smoking area. The university posted no-smoking signs on campus so students and faculty are aware of the new rules. If students are not following the ban, they are referred to the college master or judicial committee. If a staff members are caught smoking, their supervisors will be called on to resolve the issue informally.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Students at UNC-Chapel Hill are prohibited from smoking inside university buildings and, since January 2008, in outside areas within 100 feet of a building. Violators have to pay a fine of $25 and court costs of $121. To make it easier for smokers, the university is considering providing shelters outdoors so that students can smoke even when it is raining. The university also provides programs to help students quit smoking.

Nathaniel Margolies | Student Life

Senior Jim O’Brien runs through a hole in Saturday’s overtime win over Carnegie Mellon.

Senior tailback Jim O’Brien rushed for 113 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns. Freshman safety Scott O’Brien came up with the game-ending interception in overtime to give the Bears a 20-13 come-from-behind victory over University Athletic Association foe Carnegie Mellon University (4-4, 0-1 UAA).

“It helped that it was…the last home game for the seniors,” said Scott O’Brien, who finished with seven total tackles, including 1.5 sacks. “We were really pumped up to get the first conference win for them.”

“As I said at the beginning [of the season], we’re a good football team, and we’re going to play hard,” head coach Larry Kindbom said. “That was a really tough football game.”

The Bears (6-2, 1-0 UAA) opened the game with a slow first half. The Red and Green turned the ball over three times, leading to all 13 of the Tartans’ points.

After the Tartans scored following a muffed punt, Wash. U. drove 69 yards in 11 plays to tie the score at six. Jim O’Brien capped the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run, in which he broke two tackles near the line of scrimmage before busting into the open field and across the goal line.

Disaster struck the next time the Bears got the ball. On third and 4 from the 26-yard line, the snap sailed over senior quarterback Stephen Sherman’s head. Sherman tried to pick up the fumble, but Carnegie Mellon recovered in the end zone for a touchdown, taking the lead 13-6.

The defense played well the entire game, holding the Tartans’ offense to an average of under four yards per play.

“We just came in and didn’t let up many scores, only one touchdown in the first half, and they didn’t score at all the second half,” Scott O’Brien said. “It obviously put us in good position. Our defense just helped out in the field position battle and put our offense in good position to score.”

The offense finally came alive in the fourth quarter.

When the Bears took over with 2:45 left to play, Sherman promptly led a seven-play, 63-yard scoring drive, capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Drew Sexton, who finished off his route with a leaping catch. The extra point tied the score at 13 with just 1:10 left, sending the game into overtime.

“Everybody stepped up,” Jim O’Brien said. “The defense played well and shut [Carnegie Mellon] down the whole game. The O-line did a great job and stayed with their blocks and were good in protection, and Sherman came through when we needed him to.”

The Bears made quick work of Carnegie Mellon in overtime, taking only five plays to capture the lead. Jim O’Brien carried twice for all 25 yards needed for the Bears’ touchdown, scoring on a handoff up the middle that turned into a race for the pylon, putting the Red and Green up 20-13.

When the Tartans got the ball back, Scott O’Brien read quarterback Rob Kalkstein perfectly on the second play of the series, drifting left, leaping and coming down with the game-sealing interception in the end zone.

“When it came down to it, we were finishing at the end of the game on offense and defense,” Kindbom said. “It was like, ‘Guys, that’s Wash. U. football.’ [Our guys] got it done.”

The Bears travel to Cleveland, Ohio to face Case Western Reserve University (7-1, 0-1 UAA) Saturday at 11 a.m. The Spartans are coming off a 24-20 loss to the University of Chicago that snapped their 38-game regular-season winning streak.

Sophomore Dylan Richter moves around an Augustana College defender on Dec. 12. In Sunday’s away game against Carnegie Mellon University, Richter scored 15 points as the Bears won 81-60. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Coming off of four straight games decided by five or fewer points, the Washington University men’s basketball team finally got some room to breathe. The Bears handed Carnegie Mellon University their 12th loss of the season with an 81-60 rout on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

For most of the first half, the game was tight, but in the last 4 minutes and 54 seconds, the Bears erupted for a 12-3 scoring run to enter the break with a 43-29 lead.

“We started running a little more, we got the wings ahead of the guards, and that really helped us out,” graduate student Sean Wallis said. “We were able to make some shots and finish some layups around the basket, so that put it out of reach after we picked up the tempo of the game.”

Wallis recorded a team-high 17 points in the rout.

“I think Sean brings the best out of the other players,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “He orchestrates the team. It’s a great gift that he has. I couldn’t be happier with the way that he’s playing in his fifth year.”

In the second half, the Tartans could not get within 14 points, as the Bears continued pouring onto the lead.

“I think they have a tough time keeping up with us and being able to keep track of all the stuff that we ran, and it showed,” Wallis said.

Sophomore Dylan Richter and junior Spencer Gay contributed 15 points and eight points, respectively, en route to the victory.

Gay, who was recently promoted to the starting lineup, has been rewarded for his elevated performance with increased playing time.

“It’s a lot easier to be ready to play as soon as I step out on the court as a starter,” Gay said. “I feel like it brings defensive intensity to get boards.”

Despite this considerable victory, Edwards knows that teams are always especially ready to face the notoriously talented Bears.

“It’s important to realize  that when we play teams this year, they are looking at us as an opportunity to establish themselves, to knock off the two-time defending champion, or whatever,” Edwards said. “We get everybody’s best game, and that’s kind of fun. We enjoy that.”

Sunday’s game was the second of a four-game road trip for the Bears. On Friday, the Red and Green bested Case Western Reserve University 66-61, led by Gay’s 16-point performance. Gay made three out of four free throws down the stretch to preserve the win. Next weekend, the Bears will travel to the University of Rochester and Emory University before returning home on Feb. 5 to face Rochester again.

“These two games next week are really big for us,” Wallis said. “If we can sneak out of next week with two more wins, that would really put us in a good position trying to win this conference.”

Junior Tom Gulyas rushes forward in an Oct. 17 game against the College of Wooster. Gulyas had a game-high four catches for 40 yards in a 21-13 loss to Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday. (Daniel Eicholtz | Student Life)

“Special teams…is really no different than offense or defense. We’ve been playing well but not well enough long enough,” head coach Larry Kindbom said. “I think if you play well enough long enough, you score more points, you get more shutdowns and then you don’t have the quirky kind of things that we had on special teams.”

On a 55-yard CMU punt with 1:14 left in the third quarter, senior defensive back Tim Machan fumbled the catch at the Wash. U. 10-yard line. The Tartans recovered, scoring on a 4-yard touchdown rush a minute later.

The Bears’ ensuing possession ended with the same result. Sophomore punter Austin Morman fumbled a bad snap from junior offensive lineman J.J. Gotlieb, which was also recovered by Carnegie Mellon.

Starting at the Bears’ 15-yard line, it only took two plays to take the lead. A 2-yard rush put the Tartans on top for good, 14-13.

“Our defense puts a big emphasis on when we’re put in a bad situation…where the opposing offense gets the ball inside the [20-yard line]. We really stress holding them to a field goal or getting turnovers,” junior defensive back Brandon Brown said. “We just couldn’t come up with those stops yesterday.”

CMU put together a 75-yard, 8:32 touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. The 15-play series consisted of 14 carries, ending on a 1-yard touchdown run.

“After the second touchdown, it was 14-13. We were losing. It wasn’t a question of anything, at that point, other than the offense has to score more points,” junior runningback Jim O’Brien said. “We just knew that no matter what, we had to get on the [scoreboard] again. For whatever reason, we couldn’t do that.”

Given possession with only 1:36 left in the game, junior quarterback Stephen Sherman’s desperation pass was picked off, securing victory for the Tartans.

“It was just hard to come back,” Morman said. “Once they had momentum, we kept fighting, but it just didn’t work out.”

Despite holding the Tartan passing offense to only 30 yards, the Bears defense allowed 234 rushing yards.

“The defense played lights out the first [three quarters],” Brown said. “The rest of the game, I don’t know what happened, but, the momentum shifted from us being up 13-0 to them getting that quick touchdown and getting right back in the game. They took it from there.”

Senior co-captain Andrew Berryman led the team with 13 tackles, while Machan had nine. Brown and sophomore linebacker Kyle Larkin each added eight tackles.

The Bears took the lead early in the first quarter. O’Brien broke loose on Wash. U.’s second play of the game for a 42-yard rush. Junior Tim Johnson ended the drive with a 36-yard field goal.

“We had to settle for some field goals and didn’t sustain [many] drives,” O’Brien said. “A huge difference in that game was that we just couldn’t finish once we got down in the red zone…with touchdowns.”

Senior halfback Greg LaChaud caught a 10-yard touchdown pass with 12:30 left in the second quarter, pushing the score to 10-0.

Johnson hit another field goal, this time from 27 yards out, 8:33 through the third quarter. The Tartans took the lead minutes later.

“When you’re in control of a football game, at some point you have to put it away,” Kindbom said. “If you don’t, you’re just leaving the door of opportunity open for that other team.”

Washington University (3-5, 0-1) takes on the University of Chicago (4-3, 0-1) on Saturday, Nov. 7, in the final home game of the season. The team’s 14 seniors will be honored shortly before kickoff at 1 p.m.