Fifteen minutes into the second round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Tournament, No. 17 WashU men’s basketball sat tied 22-22 with Franklin College. When the final buzzer sounded 25 minutes later, WashU was up 29 points and headed to the Sweet 16 for the second time in two years.

The Bears went 2-1, winning the doubleheader on Saturday and dropping the game on Sunday. With these games, the Bears are now 5-1 in regular season play as they continue to ramp up their season. 

Many Bears teams have found their stride as the weather starts to warm.

What you missed from the Bears’ first weekend back after nearly a year without competition

The Washington University men’s track and field team finished first at the I-55 Triangular against Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) and the University of Chicago on Saturday, while the women were bested by Chicago and came second.

The Washington University swimming and diving teams won the Illinois Wesleyan Invite on Saturday, continuing its early season successes. On the men’s side, the No. 5 Bears earned 144 points, outpacing second-place Augustana College by 43 points. In the women’s competition, No. 6 Wash. U. tallied 177 points, beating second-place Illinois Wesleyan University by 62 points.

Coming into Saturday’s rain-soaked match in Bloomington, Ill., Washington University and Illinois Wesleyan University had been locked in a 9-9 tie all-time. Ever since the teams’ first matchup in 1899, neither one had the overall upper hand. That changed on Saturday, as the Bears blew away the Titans, 21-0, to improve to 5-2 on the year.

The Washington University softball team went into this past weekend with a 5-5 record looking to break .500 and get their positive momentum flowing for the remainder of the season. To do so however, they had to face off against not one, but two ranked teams in a total of four games.

The Washington University baseball team won three games this weekend against Illinois Wesleyan to sweep the series, continuing a hot streak that stretches back to the beginning of March. The Bears shut out the Titans on Saturday, 6-0, before eeking out the double-header’s second game, 2-1, and finishing in dominant fashion on Sunday, 6-2. With the wins, the team has now won 10 of its last 11 games and has improved to 12-3-1 on the season.

While many students went home for some time off and turkey last week, there was little rest for the Washington University basketball teams this Thanksgiving break as they continued their seasons through the holiday weekend.