After breaking its three-game losing streak against the College of Wooster, the Washington University football team is finally living up to its high expectations. The Bears’ 14-7 win against Carnegie Mellon University gives them a three-game winning streak and a record of 5-3. To the Wash. U. players, this win built a sense of confidence around the locker room that is needed for the few games left in the regular season.

“Right now we feel like we’re in the driver’s seat,” Knott said. “The momentum is on our side, and I know that we can continue to build this success and prove to others how good we truly are.”

Throughout the game, the Bears’ and the Tartans’ offenses found trouble moving the ball because both teams’ defenses came out strong, forcing many short drives with few red zone attempts. Despite giving up 305 yards, the Bears’ defense remained resilient and showed that they had no problem stopping a potent offense.

According to Knott, head coach Larry Kindbom addressed the team after the game. He said that he was extremely proud of the defense keeping the team in the game.

In the first half, the Wash. U. defense started strong as they stopped Carnegie Mellon’s first offensive drive to force a three-and-out. After Carnegie Mellon’s junior running back Patrick Blanks and sophomore quarterback Rob Kalkstein led their team down the field to a 10-play, 65-yard touchdown drive, the Bears’ defense fought back and tried to stop future runs with key tackles, keeping the Tartans from scoring for the rest of the game.

The defense forced three important turnovers—two fumble recoveries and freshman defensive back Ryan Bednar’s third-quarter interception—bringing the momentum of the game to the Bears.

Offensively, the Bears struggled to keep most of their drives alive in the first half, punting on four of their five possessions. Burkett wasn’t in rhythm with his receivers, but junior running back Chris Castelluccio, who rushed a total of 126 yards in the game, and the offensive linemen led the team with some strong running.

According to Knott, Kindbom acknowledged that the Tartans had a tough defense, but the offense did enough to win.

On the last drive of the second quarter, Burkett finally found his rhythm. He connected with his receivers and threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Drew Sexton to tie the game at 7-7. Though Burkett threw an interception on the second drive of the third quarter, he came back on the next drive with poise and threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Knott that would be the deciding score in the game.

“At halftime, we were talking about what routes were open on the field,” Knott said. “I ran a cross route, got open and Burkett just threw a nice pass to me. I think our strategy definitely paid off.”

With their heads held high, Wash. U. hopes to continue its winning streak with a win against Case Western Reserve University at home next Saturday. Though playoff decisions are getting near, the Bears are, for now, trying to focus on their last two games.

According to Knott, Kindbom said that the team’s focus is on Case Western.

The Bears produced two NCAA automatic qualifying cuts and 20 NCAA provisionally qualifying cuts, nine of which would have qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championships.

The official qualifying times for the 2011 NCAA Division III Championships will be relased on Mar. 8.

Even though the women finished fourth and the men finished fifth out of seven teams in the UAA and watched rival Emory University run away with the meet on both sides, the teams looked on the brighter side in their evaluation.

“We weren’t disappointed, far from disappointed actually,” senior David Chao said. “Every guy gave it his all….We wanted to [finish in the] top two, but we were the smallest team in the UAA, and depth really matters here. Having the smallest team is a disadvantage here, but I think everyone brought something to the table, and we were really happy.”

Like he has all season, Chao shined for the Bears. He tied for second in the 50-yard freestyle and was a part of the second-place 200 freestyle relay on Thursday. On Friday, he followed with second place in the 200-freestyle and was a part of the second-place 200-medley relay and the second-place 800-freestyle relay.

He was also a member of the second-place 400-freestyle relay and finally broke through with a win in his last individual event, the 100 freestyle.

“I was sick and tired of getting second to Emory,” Chao said. “My goal was to hold back the Emory guys, and they were second and third. It was my last event, so it had to be good…luckily, things turned out in my favor, and I was happy with the way the race went. It was a lifetime best for me, and it has a great shot at qualifying for nationals.”

Sophomore Brendan Morin set a new Wash. U. record, finishing first in the 100 butterfly on Friday with a time of 49.87 seconds, a time that would have qualified in the championship meet in 2010.

Senior Kartik Anjur wrapped up the individual events Friday with a win and new school record in the 100 backstroke. His time of 51.02 seconds was 0.04 faster than his school record, set at the Wheaton Invitational earlier this season, and also would have qualified for nationals in 2010.

Freshman Chi Pham once again led the way for the women’s team. Pham swam NCAA-qualifying times in two events, won one race, and set provisional times in five other events, en route to being named UAA Rookie of the Year.

“It’s really great, and I’m really happy,” Pham said when asked about the honor. “It’s tradition for the male and female Rookies of the Year to kiss, but that didn’t happen. Bummer!”

On Thursday, Pham was one of four women to break the UAA record in the 200-individual medley, but she finished in second after leading most of the way. Carnegie Mellon’s Molly Evans swam a strong final leg to take the race.

“[Evans] really came out of nowhere,” Pham said. “I didn’t see her coming. She had an amazing last 50. I guess there’s always next time.”

Pham got her win in the 100 backstroke on Friday, where she broke away from UAA record-holder Jackie Schneider of Emory in the last 50 yards. The two had identical times in the first 50 yards, but Pham prevailed by 0.12 seconds. Her final time of 56.88 seconds was an NCAA “A” cut.

“I was kind of surprised to win in the backstroke,” Pham said. “The only thing I was thinking about was finishing as hard as I could. I really couldn’t believe I won.”

The school record in the 200-freestyle relay fell on Thursday thanks to a second-place swim from junior Karina Stridh, freshman Allison Siegel, Pham and junior Amy Vanlishout. Their time of 1:36.49 was good for an NCAA “B” cut.

The Bears travel to Chicago next weekend for the Midwest Invitational, their final chance to set qualifying times for the March 23-26 NCAA Division III Championships.

Paul Goedeke | Student Life

Junior guard Dylan Richter extends for an uncontested layup against Case Western on Sunday, Jan. 30.

The Bears (11-9, 5-4 UAA) started the weekend with a 78-65 loss to the Carnegie Mellon Tartans on Friday but rebounded to defeat Case Western 80-71 on Sunday.

“Sunday morning games are pretty tough after Friday night games, especially when the Friday night game is such a hard-fought battle,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “I thought our kids responded well. They focused and made big stops.”

Senior Caleb Knepper and junior Dylan Richter scored the Bears’ first 15 points of the game. Knepper picked up nine points on three three-pointers, while Richter had six points on three layups.

“Caleb gave us some nice minutes,” Edwards said. “He was in the starting lineup, and he had some big threes.”

Knepper scored a team-high 19 points, hitting five of 10 shots from behind the arc.

Three-pointers from freshman Will Patt and sophomore Ben Hoener helped the Bears to a 37-25 lead entering halftime.

Case rallied with a 9-0 run to take a 55-54 advantage on freshman Tim Chung’s layup with 7:44 left in the game. Richter and Knepper responded with back-to-back threes to help the Bears retake the lead.

“They are a good team and made a run to the end, but we came back from it,” Richter said.

Down by five with 1:43 left in the game, the Spartans began fouling, but Wash. U. hit nine of 10 free throws in the last two minutes to seal the victory.

“We were much more focused in this game. We were able to push the ball inside,” Edwards said.

Wash. U. entered the matchup with Carnegie Mellon on a four-game winning streak but had that streak snapped.

Junior Shane Rife’s layup with 11:21 left in the first half gave the Tartans a 15-12 lead to start the game. Rife scored all of CMU’s first 15 points of the game and recorded 26 overall, a game high.

Minutes later, Richter responded by hitting three straight three-pointers to give the Bears a 29-23 lead with 6:04 remaining in the first half. Richter drilled two more threes, finishing the half with 22 points on eight of 10 shooting, including six of eight from three-point range.

“Dylan had a monster game for us,” Knepper said. “We kept giving him the ball, and he kept scoring for us. He’s a special kind of player, very athletic and can do some special things with the ball when he gets it.”

However, Carnegie Mellon took a 38-35 lead to the locker room. The Tartans hit seven of 13 shots from three-point range in the first half, while the Bears connected on six of 11.

“We didn’t come out mentally prepared or as focused as we should be, and it took us out of our game,” Richter said.

After the Tartans started the second half with a basket, the Bears answered with a 7-0 run to take a 42-40 lead. Wash. U. led 56-51 with 9:18 remaining, but 10 unanswered points gave the Tartans the lead for good.

The Bears connected on just four of 14 shots from the field in the final nine minutes.

“We had a couple whistles that went against us, and they had a couple big shots, and there is a 10-point swing, which did us in,” Edwards said. “It was disappointing because we thought we were in a position to make a move.”

The Bears continue their road trip at 8 p.m. (EST) Friday against Emory University and face conference-leading University of Rochester on Sunday.

Matt Lee | Student Life

Senior Cody Costakis plays against an Emory University defender on Oct. 3rd at home.

Two games into University Athletic Association play, the Red and Green (9-0-3) have faced two of the toughest teams in a conference in which four of eight teams are ranked among the nation’s top 25 (last weekend, the Bears delivered No. 9 Emory University its first tie). With the points from Sunday’s victory over CMU, the team is in a three-way tie with the Emory and New York University for the top spot in the UAA.

“Looking at our schedule before the UAA [part of the season] started, I knew our first two games would be critical,” senior midfielder Cody Costakis said.

The Tartans went undefeated in their first eight games and were ranked as high as No. 2 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America weekly poll. According to sophomore forward Zachary Query, the Bears had prepared for a distinctive Carnegie Mellon offense.

“We worked a lot in the week prior at being able to manage their attack. They’re really unique in the sense that they use their midfielders a lot in their attack, so they tend to overwhelm our defense with more players than they’re used to,” Query said. “We took a slightly more defensive formation, and that really paid off. We really were able to shut them down and frustrate them.”

The Tartans bested the Bears in shots 7-3 in the first half, but Wash. U. responded with a 5-3 advantage in the second. After 90 scoreless minutes, the team entered its fourth overtime game of the season.

“Last season, we had a lot of ties. Something that we’re really used to is just really hunkering down and getting through games because our defense is incredible,” Query said. “We were really upset and annoyed last week with Emory, how we didn’t score in overtime and they had most of the possession. We went out and really attacked Carnegie Mellon and had three attacks in a row before they had a single one.”

Those attacks would set up Costakis’ golden goal to earn the Wash. U. victory. Junior Dylan Roman set up the play, serving the ball to fellow junior Patrick McLean, who found Costakis less than four minutes into the first overtime period.

“I don’t think we made any adjustments [going into overtime], but [Roman] started the overtime period, and before we scored, he had three 80-yard runs down the sideline,” Costakis said. “A lot of credit goes to him for how we played in overtime.”

With the victory, the Bears have already matched last season’s win total. According to Costakis, the team’s mentality has driven the squad toward better results.

“It’s a mentality thing. Last year, we had a comparable amount of skill,” Costakis said. “During the off-season, there were a number of us working on our mental attitudes…the fact that we’ve won games in overtime, in the last few minutes, or even come from behind says something.”

The Bears now head into a demanding weekend road trip in which they will face Case Western Reserve University on Friday and head to No. 15 University of Rochester on Sunday. Query noted that while the last two games saw the Bears adjust their style of play to their opponents, this week’s strategy may depart from that trend.

“We really prepared to try to manipulate our game to handle them, and the same thing [occurred] with Carnegie Mellon. We tried to pick out the things that they were doing so that we were ready for it,” Query said. “I think this week we’re really going to focus on developing our own style of play, really imposing the way we play on to the opponents.”

The Red and Green play at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Friday in Cleveland and 1:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday in Rochester for their final two road games of the season. The team then returns home for a five-game home stand that begins Oct. 21 against Principia College.

Matt Lee | Student Life

Freshman Jessica Johnson challenges Emory goalie Kaele Leonard in the second half of a scoreless game against Emory on Oct. 3. After Scoring two goals against Carnegie Mellon yesterday, Johnson is now tied for the team lead with four goals this season.

After having trouble scoring in the first half of the season, the Washington University women’s soccer team’s put its offense on display in a 3-2 win over Webster University and in a 4-0 victory over University Athletic Association opponent Carnegie Mellon University.

The Bears faced the Tartans on Sunday, Oct. 10 in Pittsburgh, Pa. After 25 minutes of play, Wash. U. put its first goal into the CMU net. Freshman Kate Doyle dribbled the ball down the far side of the field and made a long cross to sophomore Allie Betley, who tapped the ball past Tartan goalkeeper Anya Rosen. It was Betley’s first goal of the season.

“I thought my goal created a spark, and we were all pumped and were playing harder and tougher,” Betley said. “This led into the second half, where we scored three goals.”

The team sealed its victory in the second half with those three scores. Junior captain Emma Brown scored unassisted at the 58:45 mark. She is tied for the team lead with four goals this season.

“We were able to keep possession, the defense stayed organized, and we finished the opportunities we had,” sophomore defender Nicole Martin said.

Freshman Jessica Johnson scored the next two goals for the Bears. “I’ve been having some trouble scoring, so it was really nice to finally put some in the back of the net,” Johnson said.

Johnson scored her first goal of the game in the 73rd minute on cross from Betley, who dodged around a Tartan defender and crossed the ball into the middle of the field to sophomore Lauren Clatch. Clatch tapped the ball to Johnson, who ripped the ball into the back of the net.

“It’s nice to see a freshman come into her own,” head coach Jim Conlon said.

The team’s final goal was assisted by sophomore goalie Caitlin Heim. After Heim corralled a ball sent into the box, she quickly booted it down the field. Two Tartan players headed the ball, but Johnson picked it off. Rosen charged out at Johnson, who shot around her.

“The Carnegie keeper played very well, but we just happened to get a couple balls into the back of the net,” Conlon said.

All the three components of the game—offense, defense and transition—are coming together for the Bears. “We finally put everything [together] today, and we clicked,“ Johnson said. Wash. U. outshot CMU 13-12 and took four more corner kicks.

The win was the team’s sixth shutout victory of the semester.

“Scoring four goals is amazing, but also the fact that we were able to keep the shutout for 90 minutes and remain unscored [on] in conference play is a big success,” Martin said.

During their game against Webster University on Thursday, Oct. 7, the Bears controlled the first part of the game. Johnson gave Wash. U. a 1-0 lead at the 26:23 mark, with a goal off an assist from Brown. The Bears held onto their 1-0 lead going into the second half after outshooting the Gorloks, 9-1.

Eight minutes into the second half, junior Lee Ann Felder pushed the lead to 2-0, scoring off of a penalty kick.

However, Webster tied the score with goals from senior Megan Niederschulte at 78:41 and junior Morgan Milfield at 84:52.

“We had a lapse in the second half, which was disappointing to be up 2-0 and then tied 2-2,” Conlon said.

The Bears rallied with just over a minute remaining off a goal from Johnson, assisted by freshman Becky Berels.

“It wasn’t our best game, but we came away with a win. But we really built off that and applied it to our game against Carnegie Mellon,” Betley said.

Wash. U. (6-5-1) will continue conference play against Case Western Reserve University (8-3-1) on Friday, Oct. 15, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Spencer Gay drives past a defender in Sunday’s victory. The Bears clinched the UAA title and an NCAA tournament bid. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

It was hardly an easy feat. On Senior Night, in front of a packed Field House on Friday, the Washington University men’s basketball team secured sole possession of the University Athletic Association title and an automatic NCAA tournament bid with a 65-62 win over Case Western Reserve University.

“Being able to win the UAA outright, on Senior Night, it was kind of a nice feather in our caps as seniors,” senior co-captain Aaron Thompson said. “For the team, it’s just a nice relief knowing that we’re going to be in the tournament for sure, and we don’t have to leave anything to chance.”

Up by two with just 5.9 seconds left in the game, the Bears defense forced a turnover on a Case Western inbounding play, sealing a tense game with an equally tense ending.

“We won [the game], and I thought we played well,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “Sometimes people get caught up in expectations, and they forget about the fact that the object of the game is to win it. Secondly, that nobody is going to play perfect. The third thing is that you’ve got to expect the other team to play well.”

Junior Spencer Gay had a team high of 18 points and three blocks to edge the Bears past the Spartans. Thompson, one of four senior players being celebrated on Friday night, scored 15 points.

The Bears had a hot start, taking a six-point lead with 14:54 left in the first half, relying on a strong inside presence and well-timed passes.

“[My teammates] set good screens for me, and I was wide open,” Gay said. “Sean [Wallis] got me the ball, I got in good position, and all I really had to do was lay it up.”

But with an increased Spartan defense, which forced errors and turnovers, the lead quickly disappeared.

“We’re so confident in each other…that sometimes, if they bump us or take away a cut…[mistakes] happen,” Edwards said. “We just have to know how to deal with it.”

Junior Alex Hildebrandt’s three-point play resulted in a 25-22 advantage with 5:59 to go in the first half as Case took a four-point lead into the break.

At the 15:18 mark in the second half, sophomore Tom Summers’ layup pushed the visitor’s lead to six.

Junior Caleb Knepper’s three-pointer reclaimed the lead for the Bears, part of a 12-4 run, but the game remained a close battle until the final buzzer. Thompson’s three-pointer with 90 seconds left pushed the lead to six, and proved to be vital in the win.

“As a senior, and having played in so many close games over the years, you kind of learn what needed to happen,” Thompson said. “In those situations…it’s your turn to step up to the table and take the team and put them on your shoulders and say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going to happen. Let’s go do it.’”

The Bears carried the momentum from Friday night into Sunday’s game against Carnegie Mellon University, the final home game of the season. Gay led the team, again, with a career high of 22 points. Senior Zach Kelly finished with 13 points in the 95-58 victory.

“Coming into the game, we didn’t feel as much pressure because we secured the UAA championship,” Gay said. “We were relaxed today.”

The conference championship is the Bears’ third in the past four years, and the 10th in program history. Washington University (22-2, 12-1) concludes the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the University of Chicago (13-11, 7-6).

“I am proud, but I’m also happy for [the team]. The seniors are going to go out in style, and not just with the winning, but putting on a nice legacy for the young kids coming in,” Edwards said.

The Bears captured first place in 16 events, with the men taking 10 and the women winning six. The Red and Green raced in many of its nontraditional events, with distance swimmers competing in sprints and short distance swimmers in long-distance events.

Several captains viewed the change in pace as a morale booster.

“All of us were swimming our off events to have fun and do something different,” senior co-captain Dan Arteaga said.

One of the closest races pitted two Wash. U. 200-yard medley relay squads against each other. The B squad, consisting of junior Kartik Anjur, seniors Arteaga and Alex Beyer and sophomore Ben Halperin, edged out the A squad of sophomores Billy Griffitts and Nick Thornburg, junior David Chao and senior Brian Kushner by 0.03 seconds. Down by more than a second in the final leg, Kushner almost came back to secure the win over his teammates.

Other first-place finishes included Kushner in the 100 freestyle, Arteaga in the 200 freestyle, senior Dima Galkin in the 200-yard individual medley, Chao in the 100 butterfly, Anjur in the 200 free, and freshman Brendan Morin in the 1,000 freestyle. Sophomore John Rao took the top spot in the 1-meter diving competition, besting three Panthers with 215.45 points.

Freshman Sarah Paleg won the women’s 1-meter diving competition.

“It’s amazing having [divers] both from the points stand point and the team stand point,” senior co-captain Jessie Lodewyk said.

Last season, Wash. U. did not field divers.

The entire team recently returned from their annual training trip in Florida.

“It’s almost like a whole new season,” Lodewyk said. “This year more than any other, we’ve seen underclassmen step up.”

Other top finishes for the women’s team included Lodewyk in the 200 IM; freshmen Grace Preston and Veronica Tse in the 200 freestyle and 1,000 freestyle, respectively; and junior Karin Underwood in the 100 butterfly. Wash. U.’s 200 medley and 200 free relay squads also picked up victories.

Several Wash. U. swimmers pointed to sophomore Michael Flanagan’s 100-butterfly as a standout performance from the meet. Flanagan turned in the top time of 1:03.44.

One of the events with the biggest buildup was the 400 freestyle relay. The Bears C squad defeated Principia’s squad last weekend at the Wash. U. Invitational by about a half second. As a result, the Panthers challenged the Bears to a rematch, according to junior Justin Chen.

Joining Chen’s squad were sophomores JD Scott and Evan Dorshorst and senior John Vanlishout.

“We really didn’t want to lose to Principia,” Chen said. “We [even] had a special cheer.”

The Bears outdid the Panthers by 0.95 seconds, turning in a time of 3:19.75. It was also the first time Chen broke 50 seconds in a leg, with a 49.7 split time. “It was just palpable how exciting it was,” sophomore Karina Stridh said. “Everyone had their hearts beating out of their chests.”

Friday’s meet was the squad’s final competition before the University Athletic Association championships. According to Kushner, this is the hardest the team has trained in his four years at Wash. U. Kushner attributes this effort to the team capitalizing on last year’s success at nationals, in which the men’s team had its second best performance in program history with a seventh-place finish.

The UAA championships will be hosted by Emory University from Feb. 17-20 in Atlanta. Emory’s men’s team is ranked fourth in the nation, while the Lady Eagles are top ranked. Several UAA schools, including Carnegie Mellon University, University of Chicago and New York University, also boast nationally ranked programs.

In the lead up to conference play, the team focuses on team bonding, according to Stridh. The women’s team traditionally makes funny necklaces for each other and plans on making a banner for conference play. Each swimmer is responsible for a tile that will ultimately spell out Go Bears. “We goof around, and it’s so much fun, but at the same time we get really intense too, especially before swim meets,” Stridh said. “You know you have your team there, and you know that  you can always rely on your team because they’re going to do the best they can.”

Women’s soccer
(13-2-1, 5-0-1 UAA)

Best case: UAA champion if Wash. U. beats Chicago, Case defeats Rochester

Worst case: UAA Runner-up if Wash. U. loses to Chicago, Rochester defeats Case

The No. 8 women’s soccer team holds a one-point lead over the University of Rochester and defeated the Yellowjackets 2-1 in overtime on Oct. 18.

If Rochester beats Case Western Reserve University at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night and the Bears do not defeat Chicago, the Yellowjackets will win the conference. The Bears must beat Chicago for the outright title as Rochester defeated Emory. Emory tied with Wash. U. on Oct. 17. Two ties are worse than a loss, according to senior co-captain Becca Heymann.

Volleyball
(25-3, 7-0 UAA)

Best case: UAA champion if Bears advance to championship match and win

Worst case: Place in the top four of UAA teams if they fail to make the championship match

The No. 3 Wash. U. volleyball team defeated every UAA team in round robin play, earning the top seed in this weekend’s UAA championships. No. 4 Emory University is the top seed in the other pool. The Bears swept Emory (25-19, 25-17, 25-18) on Oct. 17. Wash. U. takes on NYU, Rochester and Case in pool A. The champions of both pools play for the UAA championship.

The Bears also are the top-ranked team in the region and have a good chance of hosting at least one round of the NCAA tournament.

Men’s soccer
(9-6-3, 3-3 UAA)

Best case: If all teams lose above Wash. U. lose and the Bears win, Wash. U. will still be in fourth

Worst case: If Emory beats Carnegie Mellon and Wash. U. falls to Chicago, the Bears will be in fifth place in the UAA standings

The Bears are currently in fourth place in the UAA rankings and face Chicago (4-1-1 UAA). With losses to Carnegie Mellon and Rochester, which lead the conference with a 5-1 record, the Bears have no chance of winning UAAs. Carnegie Mellon plays Emory, while Rochester is up against Case Western Reserve.

In terms of gaining an NCAA bid, beating Chicago, the fourth-ranked team in the Central Region, would give the Bears a quality win in their favor.

The postseason fate of both soccer teams and volleyball will be announced on Nov. 9.

Senior Alli Alberts competes at the Washington University Invitational on April 4. Alberts took first in four UAA events. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Washington University’s men’s and women’s track teams both won UAA conference titles Sunday. The women accrued 231.5 points, topping second-place Emory University by 62 points while the men totaled 221 to Carnegie Mellon University’s 152. This was the women’s 10th title in a row and the men’s first since 2006.

“I was completely excited. It wasn’t in my mind that we’d win by 65 points. It was just an amazing feeling,” sophomore Scott Pettit said. “A lot of the credit went to how hard everyone worked as a team.”

The team started out the meet with four wins on Saturday before racking up 14 titles Sunday. “It started early on Saturday and continued,” junior Keith England said of the team’s momentum.

Alli Alberts was the star of the meet, bringing home four UAA titles. She won the 400-meter hurdles in 1:03.98 and the javelin with a 38.74 meter effort. Both of these marks provisionally qualified her for the NCAA championship meet. She teamed with freshman Elisabeth Stocking, sophomore Kelli Blake and junior Molly Schlamb to win the 4×800-meter relay in 9:27.31. Finally, running with fellow seniors Erika Wade, Krystyn Stowe and Danielle Wadlington, she helped to win the 4×400-meter relay in an NCAA provisional time of 3:55.99.

Wadlington was also a multi-event winner for the Bears. In addition to the 4×400 win, she won the triple jump, leaping 11.65 meters and the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.58, both of which topped the provisional standard.

Freshman Katie Hered won the pole vault title, clearing 3.37 meters while classmate Erica Jackey took the 1,500-meter run in 4:40.40.

On the men’s side, senior Pierre Hoppenot brought home three titles of his own. He swept the sprints, winning the 100-meter dash in 10.97 and the 200 meter dash in 22.05. He, along with fellow senior Todd Mowry, junior Iboro Umana and sophomore Tom Gulyas, won the 4×100-meter relay in 41.93 seconds, setting a school record.

Umana brought home multiple titles of his own as did sophomore Ben Harmon and senior Tanner Coghill. Umana also won the 400-meter dash in 49.68 seconds. Coghill took the 400-meter hurdles, running them in 52.90 seconds to provisionally qualify for the NCAA championships and the triple jump, leaping 14.03 meters. Harmon completed the pole vault sweep, clearing 4.44 meters and also won the long jump, leaping 7.12 meters, another provisional mark.

England completed the javelin sweep, tossing it 60.48 meters to set a UAA record and provisionally qualify for the NCAA championships. Freshman Tyler Jackson also won the 110-meter hudles in 15.03 seconds.

Two Bears also recorded provisional marks in events they did not win. Wadlington provisionally qualified in the long jump after finishing second with a leap of 5.63 meters. Classmate Aubrey Edwards finished third in the hammer throw with a toss of 49.52 meters, good enough to top Delaina Martin’s school record.

“It was really exciting,” Edwards said. “I didn’t know at the time. I totally look up to her. It was great to be on the same level.”

In the women’s meet, sophomore Taryn Surtees and freshman Jessica Londeree took second and third respectively in the 10,000 meters. Junior Hope Rathnam took third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as did the women’s 4×100-meter relay, composed of junior Caitlin Hartsell and seniors Wadlington, Trudi Pugatch and Molloy. Molloy also finished second in the 100-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles as did Wade in the 400-meter dash. Jackey took third in the 800-meter run while Wadlington finished in the same spot in the 200-meter dash.

On the field, seniors Jessica Lane and Colleen Moreland cemented Wash. U. dominance in the pole vault, taking second and third. Edwards also finished third in the shot put.

In the men’s meet, sophomore David Spandorfer finished second in the 10,000-meters. The men’s 4×400-meter relay, composed of Umana, Coghill, Harmon and junior Chris Malaya also took second. Junior Alden Black took third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Freshman Dan Davis also took third in the 110-meter hurdles as did Mowry in the 200-meter dash.

In the field events, senior Brent Sensenich finished second in the discus and third in the shot put. Classmate Danny Luce took third in the discus.

Overall, the team was very excited about the results. “This is one of the only meets where [the team] actually matters,” Alberts said. “We’re a team at conference. It matters if you beat the team next to you.”

The team will compete next at the Pacesetter Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind. on May 2 in continued preparation for the NCAA championships. The team is hoping to carry this success throughout the rest of the season.

“I think all of us are really excited about the momentum,” Edwards said. “We’re all starting to think that if we can continue on this swing of energy there’s a nice chance of doing well at nationals.”

The No. 16 women’s team (14-4, 6-1 UAA) will rematch No. 15 NYU (16-2, 5-2 UAA) tonight at 6 p.m., five days after the Bears defeated the then-No. 8 ranked Violets 63-53. Sophomore Kathryn Berger posted a team-high 11 points in the victory, the 10th win for the Bears in their past 11 games.

During halftime of the women’s game, the 2008 Washington University Sports Hall of Fame class will be recognized. Ten of the newest inductees are former student-athletes, including Tasha Rodgers, a member of all four women’s basketball NCAA National Championship teams from 1998-2001, and Kevin Folkl, the men’s basketball team’s ninth all-time leading scorer and career leader in field goal percentage.

Also being inducted are two Distinguished Service Honorees, Hord Hardin (’35) and W. Edward Lansche (’48), bringing the total in the Hall of Fame to 132.

The men’s basketball team, ranked No. 2 in Division III nationally (17-1, 7-0 UAA), will then play NYU (13-5, 2-5 UAA) at 8 p.m. Junior guard Aaron Thompson will look to continue his hot streak, having scored 29 points in Sunday’s 67-56 win. Thompson is averaging 18.6 points per game for the season and has led the Bears in scoring the past five games.

The St. Louis Rams cheerleaders will perform during halftime of the men’s game and will be signing autographs after the game.

“[The Rams cheerleaders] actually contacted us and wanted to come perform at Wash. U., and they’re actually tied in with somebody who is affiliated with [the University],” said Trevor MacDonald, director of marketing and external relations for Washington University Athletics.

Tonight is also Eliot Night, where many of the contributors to University and athletic funding are invited to attend both games and a dinner beforehand.

Trying to remain perfect in UAA conference play, the men will play Brandeis University on Sunday at noon. Brandeis (12-6, 5-2 UAA) is the No. 2 team in the UAA and will be looking for revenge after a close 80-75 loss on Friday, Jan. 30 in which the Judges gave up the most points they had all season.

Despite having four players score in double figures, the Judges were bested by Wash. U.’s balanced offense and Thompson’s 18 points.

“Rematch games are always a little bit harder, especially offensively, because the other team gets to make defense adjustments. But if you flip that around, we get to make defensive adjustments also,” junior forward Cameron Smith said. “Every game in the UAA is going to be a dogfight, and Brandeis is one of the better teams [in the conference] this year, and we know they’re going to come to play on Sunday.”

Sunday, Feb. 8 is the second annual Youth Day, featuring free autographs from all of the basketball players, face painting, J.J. Jumper (the NCAA mascot), giveaways and much more youth-centered programming.

“We’ve done a lot of clinics throughout the year where kids keep coming back because they need a Sean Wallis or a Tyler Nading, and they want to come back and see them play and say hello to them. I think it’s nice to see the kids come out and get to see their idols play, and meet them and get their autographs,” MacDonald said.

At 2 p.m., the women take the court in another tough battle against No. 24 Brandeis (13-4, 3-4 UAA). Last weekend, the Bears defeated Brandeis 61-55 in a come-from-behind victory.

This weekend’s women’s games are of added importance given how close the UAA standings currently are. Wash. U. and No. 3 Rochester are tied atop the conference at 6-1 while NYU is only one game behind at 5-2. Rochester will face Emory and Case Western Reserve University this weekend, both of whom are 2-5 in conference play while Brandeis and NYU will also face the University of Chicago (13-5, 4-3 UAA) this weekend.