The unranked and unheralded Bears followed up on last week’s tournament title by capturing the Illinois Wesleyan University Fall Classic.

“There’s no expectations on us,” senior Margaret Manning said. “We’ve done it for ourselves, for our team.”

In the process of their six-stroke victory, the Red and Green defeated preseason No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, No. 5 Wisconsin-Eau Claire, No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan, No. 11 Olivet College and No. 20 Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Red and Green also defeated NAIA No. 8 William Woods University.

Wash. U. seized control of the 18-team tournament on the first day with a nine-stroke lead and a team score of 315.

Despite tougher conditions on the second day, including wetter greens and intermittent rain, the Bears fired a 329, adding for a two-day total of 644.

“We tried to focus on closing. We didn’t sit on the lead,” Manning said.

Conditions were tough throughout the tournament, with some of the fastest greens the team has faced.

“[The greens] felt like a marble table,” Manning said. “Nothing would land.”

Shots that looked perfect bounced on the green and into the rough or tall grass.

Putting was particularly difficult, with many 10-foot putts overshooting the cup and rolling into tall grass. Several holes were located on ridges, increasing the toughness.

Freshman Melanie Walsh led the squad, shooting a 153 (73-80) over the weekend and placing second in a field of 112 golfers. Her first-day score was a personal best.

According to Walsh, it was the first time her parents saw her play at the college level, and a good friend was on the Illinois Wesleyan team. The two had trashtalked over the summer and were also vying for bragging rights. “[Walsh] came ready to play,” Manning said.

Walsh’s first round was highlighted by a birdie on a par 3 on the 16th hole. Her first shot was high, bounced once and landed softly about four feet from the hole.

“I was praying for it to get close,” Walsh said. “When I was standing over the putt, I was like, ‘I’m going to make this.’” Walsh made the putt and pumped her fist in celebration.

Freshman Hannah Buck finished fifth overall with a 156 (76-80). Buck had a great sand save—or “sandy”—on a par 4 on the first day. Buck’s second shot landed in the sand just short of the green.

“You’re in that zone of, ‘Do I try to hit the green, or do I try to bounce it up?’ She missed it by three feet,” head coach Sean Curtis said. “She was able to step up, hit a great shot out of the sand and make the putt. When you see someone do that, even they’ll smile.”

Manning (81-84, 18th), senior Kristina Zeschin (85-86, 41st) and junior Kathleen Pettinato (94-85, 67th) rounded out the scorers. Sophomore Katie Homa competed as an individual, shooting a 170 (85-85), good for 37th.

“Even when they’ve had a bad hole, they’ve been able to immediately overcome it,” Curtis said. “That’s been a particular strength, just to move on.”

Updated rankings are expected later this month, but for now the Bears look to end the fall season strong at the Millikin University Fall Classic in Decatur, Ill., on Saturday and Sunday. The Red and Green plan to carry their quiet confidence forward and let their clubs speak for themselves.

“You don’t have to announce it to anyone,” Curtis said on what he’s told the team. “You don’t need to say it out loud just knowing that you can play with the people that you’re paired up against…Be proud of your accomplishments, but don’t be satisfied.”

At Boston College (BC), students will receive an e-mail address, in the format of name@bc.edu, which will forward mail to the students’ preexisting accounts under other domains, prompting speculation over whether this will spark a new trend.

While Washington University offers students an e-mail account with a server, changes may be underway. Student Union (SU) has been looking to switch the e-mail system to Google’s e-mail platform, Gmail, in response to students’ suggestions.

“I honestly don’t see the point of having a University e-mail address, especially since the e-mail browsers are difficult to use and there are much easier things such as Gmail and Yahoo! that are already set up,” freshman Corey Donahue said.

A survey conducted by SU indicated that more students preferred to use Gmail and would be more likely to use it if the University switched.

According to the survey responses, 39 percent of students forward their Wash. U. e-mail to a non-University provided account. Participants cited the “ability to back up,” “more reliable systems elsewhere,” “better interfaces” and “preferences to have e-mail in one place” as reasons for forwarding their e-mails. The survey also found that 76 percent of students use a University-provided e-mail address as their primary account.

The survey’s responses have prompted a series of dialogues between SU and the administration. Although the initiative is still in its early stages, a plan is taking form.

“Your Wash. U. e-mail will still be your name at [wustl.edu], but it would be through Gmail so it would look like Gmail,” junior Jeff Nelson, SU vice president of administration, said.

The new e-mail would also come with all the perks of Gmail, including Google Talk, Google Documents and Google Calendars.

A handful of other colleges, including Northwestern University, the University of Virginia and St. Louis University, have already made the switch over to major e-mail providers like Google.

For some students, e-mail is more about practicality and less about perks.

“I only use my Wash. U. e-mail, and have all my other e-mails forwarded to that account,” sophomore Kathleen Pettinato said. “On a Blackberry, that’s just easier.”

But it seems likely that the University will always provide a separate e-mail account.

“I don’t see [BC’s move] as a trend that’s going to start universities not providing service for their students. They’re going to look to services that provide e-mails for a living, like Google,” Nelson said.

To some, not providing a separate e-mail service also seems impractical.

“Most students probably do [have a preexisting account] and they probably change with the wind. It would be a nightmare trying to keep students updated,” Sue Hosack, director of the Office of Student Records, said. “It saves us a lot, having one e-mail.”

Switching over to Google, however, would have its advantages as well. The physical act of maintaining and creating e-mail accounts and servers can become costly.

“It’s important to make people divert to other resources, so it’s a substantial statement,” Nelson said.

Gmail offers a special college edition that is $50 per student.

While the University’s e-mail plans are still in the early stages, this year will be used as a pilot in which all student groups will switch over to using Google Apps, with tutorials provided by SU. The results will be closely monitored to gauge the practicality of switching the entire student body over to Google.

“I think over the next three to five years, a lot of schools are going to want to get out of the e-mail business to some capacity. Whether it’s what BC is doing and not providing an e-mail at all, saying get your own, or whether it’s doing what Northwestern is doing by partnering with Google to provide student e-mails, something’s going to change,” Nelson said.