Nathaniel Margolies | Student Life

Senior Max Woods serves the ball against UMSL on April 13. Woods and No. 1 doubles partner senior Issac Stein were 2-1 over the weekend at the UAA Championship.

This marked the sixth consecutive year in which Wash. U. met Emory in the finals of the UAA Championships and the second time this season that the Bears fell to the Eagles in the finals of a tournament (after the ITA National Indoor Championship on Feb. 20).

The Bears headed into Sunday’s match against Emory riding a seven-match winning streak, but they dropped all three doubles matches and the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles matches to seal the loss.

Seniors Isaac Stein and Max Woods lost a nail biter, 8-6, in No. 1 doubles to the second-ranked doubles team in the nation. Following that match, the No. 2 doubles team of junior Cameron Chiang and sophomore Kareem Farah led 7-6, but then dropped the last three games in a 9-7 defeat. Sophomores Gary Parizher and Adam Putterman lost 8-0 in the final doubles match.

“It’s obviously a big rivalry,” Stein said. “[Emory] made very few mistakes and they executed the big points better than we did.”

The Bears, who pride themselves on strong doubles play, plan to use this loss to make adjustments to deal with top teams later in the season.

“[Emory] brings high energy in doubles, and they just shut us down this time,” Woods said. “We have to work harder on our serves, and we need to work on finishing off points at the net and bringing the energy every time.”

In Saturday’s semifinal match against Chicago, the Red and Green avenged a 5-4 loss on April 2 that snapped its four-year home winning streak at the time.

“We were just extremely focused and very motivated,” Stein said. “There was a little extra motivation for us because we wanted to get revenge for that loss, and we were rock solid from the top to the bottom to get the victories we needed.”

In their earlier matchup with Chicago, the Bears were swept in doubles, putting them in a hole entering singles play. This time, the Bears led 2-1 after doubles, giving them an edge for the rest of the day.

“We came out prepared this time,” Woods said. “The big thing that we learned is that we have to be prepared and work hard in doubles.”

Friday’s sweep of Case Western provided a confidence booster that the team needed to propel itself further through the tournament.

“They are an up-and-coming team, with a lot of good players, and they have been winning some big matches this year,” Woods explained. “We came out well-prepared and fired up, and it was a great feeling to beat them.”

The Bears (14-5) will take on Grinnell College on Saturday, April 23 at the University of Missouri-St. Louis courts.

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.

Matt Lee | Student Life

Junior Dylan Roman works the ball up the sideline against Emory University on Oct. 3, a game that ended in a 0-0 tie. Roman’s game-winning goal on Saturday, Oct. 16 against Case Western Reserve University was the first of his collegiate career.

In Sunday’s game against the University of Rochester, the Yellowjackets struck first with a goal in the 20th minute from forward Steve Welles. Despite the early deficit, the Bears answered less than three minutes later when sophomore forward Kenji Kobayashi notched his second goal of the year on an unassisted chip shot.

The 1-1 lasted through the end of regulation, forcing the Red and Green into its third consecutive overtime game. Just 1:18 into the first overtime period, the Bears surrendered the “golden goal” to Rochester midfielder Max Fan.

The contest with Rochester marked the first time in the 2010 season that the Bears allowed two goals in one game.

“I think we’re unlucky to give up two goals, definitely,” junior forward Patrick McLean said. “Their offense was very linear, in that they would just send a bunch of big guys in the box and try to cross it or throw it in…we still play our normal style but just [make sure] that when the ball comes in the box everyone is where they’re supposed to be.”

The loss broke a recent trend of consecutive overtime victories for the Bears.

“The goal is always to win before overtime, but when it comes now, we’re pretty used to it; we’ve been in overtime more often,” junior midfielder Michael Chamberlin said. “The goal is just to score as quickly as possible, and on Sunday, it just didn’t go our way.”

Despite the loss, the Bears maintain a competitive ranking in both the National Coaches Association of America top-25 poll (No. 15) and the central region poll (No. 2). With three UAA contests remaining in the Wash. U. schedule, the team can take first place in the conference by winning out.

“We feel good about where we are; we’re still in control of our destiny, which is important to us. If we win the rest of our games, [the loss doesn’t really matter]…we like that we control our own destiny still, but we want to focus on becoming a better team,” Chamberlin said.

Friday’s game against Case Western Reserve University was a reversal of Sunday’s results. The Bears’ defense proved too much of a challenge for the Spartans, and Wash. U. held a 16-3 advantage on shots for the game, a 1-0 overtime win.

“Against Case, it was just really a matter of ‘if we could score’ because they were definitely not going to score on us,” McLean said. “We just couldn’t really score; they were packing [players] into the back.”

Senior Harry Beddo led the Red and Green with five shots, followed by junior Dylan Roman and sophomore Zachary Query, who tallied three shots each. Despite the offensive tilt in favor of the Bears, they were unable to break the 0-0 stalemate during regulation.

Less than two minutes into the first overtime period, Roman would break the scoreless play with his first career goal on a through ball sent from senior midfielder Cody Costakis.

“We were able to play our game on Friday,” Chamberlin said. “It took a while for us to finally get a goal in; we would like to be able to work on imposing our game a little more [strongly]. We felt [that] we dominated the game, and we’d like to be able to score goals in games like that [earlier].”

The squad has now concluded its road schedule for the 2010 regular season and will return to Francis Field for a five-game home stand that begins tomorrow against Principia College at 7 p.m. Three UAA foes—Brandeis University, UAA-leading New York University and the University of Chicago—round out conference play and the regular season.

Junior Alex Hoover drives past a Carnegie Mellon defender on Sunday. Hoover scored a game high 17 points in Friday’s win over Case Western. (Josh Goldman | Student Life)

Juniors Kathryn Berger and Alex Hoover led the way in a 71-54 win against Case Western Reserve University on Friday, and it was Evans and Unruh who brought the points on Sunday as the Bears closed out their home schedule for the year with an 89-61 win over Carnegie Mellon University.

“It was a big weekend for us,” Unruh said. “It’s always kind of weird when it’s your last two guaranteed home games. It’s emotional, but it was a lot of fun.”

There was no shortage of production for the Bears on offense this weekend, with Sunday’s game being the highlight. Shot after shot fell for the Bears, who put up 52 points in the first half while shooting 60 percent from the field.

Evans scored all 14 of her points in the half to go along with Unruh, who put up 17 of her 20 in the half.

“I think definitely today we picked up the pace a lot,” Unruh said on Sunday. “We’re shooting well. We’ve definitely got a bit more confidence in our shooting.”

Friday’s contest against Case started as a close one, as the teams traded baskets and Case’s press troubled the Bears on the offensive end. An eight-point run from Berger put them in motion late in the first half, and they took a 40-28 lead into the half.

Berger’s efforts were complemented by Hoover’s, who scored 10 of her 17 points in the first half. The Bears jumped out to a lead as big as 26 points in the second half and cruised through the rest of the game.

But the big story on Friday was the pregame ceremony that honored the seniors and their achievements. Niese, Unruh and Evans have combined for a 92-21 record and a 47-8 record in University Athletic Association play in their time here.

“You look at their contributions both on and off the court, and it’s incredible,” head coach Nancy Fahey said. “Two Final Fours, four trips to the NCAA tournament and, more importantly, the leadership and the quality of people that they are. They should be proud of their legacy here.”

The seniors said they all were proud of the season and their accomplishments.

“We spend every single day in the gym shooting,” Niese said. “Basically we’re a family. It’s just a way of life now.”

With the wins, the Bears stand at 22-2 and have clinched at least a share of the UAA title for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons. They can clinch an outright title, and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, with a win at Chicago on Saturday.

“Our conference is one of the toughest in the nation, and if you win that, you put yourself in place with some of the best in the nation,” McFarlin said. “So it’s big. It’s great to be the champ against all of these schools with great basketball programs.”

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.”

The team’s sixth loss, a 28-8 defeat, came Saturday at the hands of the undefeated No. 7 Case Western Reserve University Spartans of Cleveland, Ohio.

“I know that everybody left everything out on the field, so that’s all you can ever ask for,” senior running back and co-captain Matt Glenn said. “It would’ve been nice to walk away with a victory, but unfortunately we didn’t.”

The win for Case Western (10-0, 3-0) not only gives them the University Athletic Association championship, but also their third straight undefeated season and a 31-game winning streak in the regular season.

“When it’s all said and done, I think we’re a little disappointed, but it wasn’t because of a lack of effort. They’re a good team, too,” head coach Larry Kindbom said. “It would’ve taken not just a good effort, but a good performance to beat them, but I think we had the opportunities.”

Case running back Greg Meyer led a nine-play, 77-yard touchdown drive to start the game. His 7-yard run into the end zone gave the team a 7-0 advantage with 10:45 left in the first quarter.

The Bears’ defense responded and gave the offense a chance to tie the contest. Senior defensive back Nick Vom Brack intercepted quarterback Dan Whalen on Case’s second drive, returning the ball 38 yards to the Spartans’ 25-yard line. Junior Tim Johnson’s 41-yard field goal missed wide left.

“On defense, we didn’t play anything close to a perfect game,” senior linebacker and co-captain Andrew Berryman said. “The whole time, we had to go out and worry about ourselves and keep putting the offense in positions [to score].”

Junior defensive back Brandon Brown intercepted Whalen one drive later. The Bears would be limited to a three-and-out.

Despite a 42-yard run by Glenn and a 20-yard catch by junior Tom Gulyas on their next series, the Bears failed to score on a first-and-goal, turning the ball over on downs at the 2-yard line.

“We were able to put together a couple of drives and had some big plays, but in the end, it came down to finishing,” Glenn said.

The defense forced a safety on Case’s following drive, but the Spartan offense quickly responded. Meyer added another rushing touchdown with 3:11 left in the first half, giving the Spartans a 14-2 lead heading into halftime.

Case extended its lead with a 13-play, 67-yard touchdown drive with 7:55 left in the third quarter, but Wash. U.’s 17-play, 65-yard drive could not replicate the same success. The Bears turned the ball over on downs for the third time.

“We just had to play…a little better on every play,” Kindbom said. “It would’ve put us in position to win that game in the fourth quarter.”

The Bears did connect for a 3-yard touchdown rush by Glenn with 5:46 left in the quarter, but the Spartans took advantage of a failed onside-kick attempt, sealing their victory with a 22-yard rush only 1:25 later.

Wash. U. used three different quarterbacks in the loss, but completed only 22 of 47 attempts for 172 yards and averaged 3.7 yards per attempt. The team gained 309 yards of total offense, while Case had 385.

“I’m obviously not extremely happy with our record and how we [finished], but I think we grew as a team and got a lot better as the season went on,” Glenn said. “You can’t have any regrets. I love the team, love playing with all the guys out there.”

Sophomore forward Pat McLean pushes the ball down the field during an unfortunate 1-0 loss to University of Rochester on Sunday. (Daniel Eicholtz | Student Life)

The men’s soccer team split a pair of University Athletic Association (UAA) games on Friday and Sunday, coming away with a win over Case Western Reserve University and a loss to No. 6 University of Rochester.

In Friday’s game against Case, the Bears and Spartans played a scoreless match until the 35th minute. When senior captain John Hengel was fouled, sophomore Pat McLean collected a loose ball and set up junior John Duncan for his second goal of the season.

“[The goal] was basically the hustle of my teammates. John Hengel, he actually got fouled really hard and Pat picked up where he left off, dribbling in,” Duncan said. “The ball just kind of got left out in the box for me, and I was able to follow it up and place it in the corner.”

Case Western controlled the offensive stats, besting Washington University 20-7 on shots, but the team credits its success to intensity.

“It was one of those times in the season where we needed a result and we came out and everyone played well as a team. We hustled and had an intensity that was to a new level,” Duncan said. “We always kept pressure, smart pressure. We kept the ball moving quickly and tried to dictate the game.”

Sophomore Michael Chamberlin brought the Bears to a 2-0 lead with a goal early in the second half. A free kick from senior co-captain Nat Zenner set up the score.

“[Coach Joe Clarke] talked to me before the game about being due to score,” Chamberlin said. “I wanted to try and get it over the top and get my head on the ball, and I was able to…I was glad I played it.”

In the final minutes of the game, Case Western lost senior defenseman Will Green to a red card after he fouled McLean. Senior goalkeeper John Smelcer finished the contest with his sixth shutout of the season.

“We played as a group today and we played hard and we played at a higher pace, higher intensity,” Chamberlin said.

The Bears were limited in creating offensive opportunities in the first half against Rochester on Sunday. Both teams were held scoreless in the first 45 minutes of play.

“We didn’t play as well as we could have in terms of keeping possession of the ball,” Zenner said. “We kind of got sucked into the way they wanted to play; they’re a big, physical team and they used that to their advantage by playing lots of long balls and challenging for head balls.”

The Bears opened the second half with an increased offensive attack. However, the team had to continue to battle Rochester’s corner kicks. The Yellowjackets had an 11-2 advantage for the game.

“We just talked about trying to play our game, trying to keep the ball on the ground and connect a lot of passes. At halftime we talked about coming out with a lot of fire, and I think that’s what caused that little burst,” Zenner said. “Although [corners] were the biggest challenge, I think it was the one we responded best to.”

After 83 minutes without a goal from either team, Rochester briefly caught Smelcer out of position and scored a late goal that was the game-winner.

“What I can say is we did battle, and we didn’t really deserve to lose that game, especially across the back defending so many corners and long throw-ins,” Zenner said.

The Bears face Berry College in their last home game of the season at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23.