The Bears traveled to Hamilton College in upstate New York to participate in the tournament.

“This year’s team has been very positive and focused,” captain Eric Potter, a senior, said. “We went to the national championships with the foot on the throttle and never let up.”

Entering as the fourth seed, the team faced Carnegie Mellon University in the first round, pulling off an easy 19-7 victory.

However, the team’s biggest challenge came in the second game versus the top-seeded Monmouth University Hawks. The Hawks were undefeated in the regular season and were the clear favorites, but the Bears bested them 17-11.

“We got a chance to see [Monmouth] play before we ended up playing them, knew how to play them, knew who their good guys were, knew how we could run our offense to exploit their weaknesses, and I think that really helped when we went up against them,” sophomore Tim Greer said.

With a victory over Monmouth, the team geared up to face the Bowdoin College Polar Bears on Sunday, Nov. 6, in the championship game.

“One of the greatest strengths of the team has been its ability to adapt under pressure,” Potter said. “We faced some creative offensive strategies from top programs and were able to expose their weaknesses.”

Wash. U. started fast with goals from freshman Shay Banton and graduate students Adam Gremp and Dan Conner to take a 3-0 lead less than 2:30 into the game.

The two teams traded goals for the rest of the half. The Polar Bears were able to even the score 4-4 with a goal from Noah Perwin at 4:28, but the Bears pulled ahead and maintained an 8-6 by the end of the second quarter.

Bowdoin had a strong performance in the third period, scoring three while the Red and Green were only able to notch one. Entering the fourth period, the Bears needed a strong offensive push to get out of the 9-9 tie.

Greer stepped up for Wash. U., scoring back-to-back man-up goals at 5:52 and 4:59. Gremp tacked on a goal, as did graduate student Sandor Kovacs to complete the Bears’ four-goal run, which would give them the 13-10 win.

“We were all really nervous before the game. We had to line up on the side of the pool and the officials introduced us, and I was trembling a little bit, because I had never been in a national championship game, and the other guys hadn’t either,” Greer said. “What was going through my mind was that I knew that we were all going to leave it all in the pool, give it your all, and don’t regret going out there and giving your best.”

Wash. U. was able to capitalize on exclusion fouls, as the team converted on five-of-eight, while Bowdoin only managed to score on one-of-four chances.

“While we owe a lot to some pivotal players, this championship was very much a team victory.”

Individuals had great success as well. Greer and Banton both earned first team all-tournament, and Greer was the tournament MVP while Banton was the Rookie of the Year. In addition, Gremp received second team All-Tournament, while player and coach Dan Conner earned all-tournament coach.

“I have played on competitive sports teams for almost 20 years, and this is the greatest, most cohesive and supportive group that I have ever had the honor of playing with,” Potter said.

This is the team’s first-ever national championship, a huge milestone and confidence booster for the program and the players.

“We have begun a new era in Washington University water polo,” Potter said. “I am confident that those of us graduating are leaving the program in the hands of very capable and driven young men.”

With additional reporting by Kurt Rohrbeck.

My first run at college, actually, was at St. Charles back in 2003. I went to school there for two years and played hockey during two of the team’s six national title seasons. About two years later, I took over our legendary coach Chris “Pops” Marchand. We ended up having a shot at a national title my second year but we lost on a bad call in overtime during the championship game.

I know. Let it go—it’s just never as easy as it seems.

Players and coaches dedicate around nine months a year to practices, team functions and games. Coaching is really hard, and it’s even more difficult when you care about the players you coach. You realize that this might be the last time you get to reach out to some of them, and there were always more important lessons to be taught than just how to win hockey games. After that overtime loss, a piece of me just died. The look of disappointment on the players’ faces was something I will never forget. But, eventually, I realized that I had to move on. My assistant coach, Pat Ramshaw, had learned our system well, and I knew he would do a fine job. He had two great sons on the team, Ryan and Kurt.

The interesting part of this past Friday’s game against my old team wasn’t the eventual score but getting to play against players I had coached. Some of them hadn’t been able to finish their freshman seasons at St. Charles because of grades; we were one of the only programs that stressed academics over ability. That made it even greater to see that what we stressed to them really worked.

During the game that night, something special happened. It was my first chance to see the captain of the championship team during my tenure as a St. Charles assistant coach. Blake Propp was one of the best players I ever coached. He was a true leader, and had the heart of a lion. I teased him by saying he would end up being a coach someday. (A few players I coached from that championship team went on to coach at the collegiate level like Andy Meade and Jason Holzum.) It’s a great feeling to see your players giving back to the game.

After our Saturday game, I was greeted by several of my former players¬—Sean Daft, Brent Propp (Blake’s younger brother) and Mike Russell. Sean had been a true competitor those first two years he played at St. Charles. He really wanted to win. Brent was a player who had to sit out his second semester and not get the chance to play at nationals his freshman year. Mike was a player I might have pushed too hard his first year. He returned the second half of his freshman year and put the team on his back at nationals the year we lost.

Last year the boys at St. Charles ended up finally winning a national title. I watched the scoreboard online and celebrated from a distance. To see them all move on to greater things gave me the amazing feeling of what winning was really about: strength, courage and commitment.

Washington University lost Friday’s game 7-0, and Saturday’s game 11-1. We were outshot 128 to 21, but we played hard and never quit. Our young team is starting to come together though, and hopefully this spring we might get an invitation to the national tournament. That will be the first step for us to begin our own winning tradition.

James Harrang | Student Life

Junior Lauren Budde spikes a ball against Hanover College on Oct. 30. The Bears won all three of their NCAA regional matches over the weekend to reach the quarterfinals, which begin Nov. 19 at the Wash. U. Field House.

On the road for the first weekend of the 2010 Division III NCAA tournament, the No. 3 Bears (34-3) began by defeating Beloit College 3-0 on Friday. Wash. U. then took out a resilient Wartburg College squad 3-1 on Saturday. On Sunday, they disposed of No. 14 University of Wisconsin-Platteville 3-0 to take the Kenosha Regional Championship in Kenosha, Wis., and move within three wins of a national championship repeat.

“It’s just a feeling you can’t describe, being in the situation right now and having three more games and we can have it all,” said sophomore Marilee Fisher, who tallied 128 assists over the weekend’s three games. “We’re all just feeding off of that energy.”

In Sunday’s match, Wash. U. punched its ticket back to the NCAA quarterfinal by defeating Platteville (25-16, 25-21, 25-19), which had already taken out host school and No. 8 Carthage College on Saturday. In each of the first two sets, the Bears broke an early tie behind a run of serves from sophomore Kelly Pang, taking a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

After Platteville tied the third set at 19-19, a kill by freshman Kaia Schwartz gave the Bears the edge, and four more points in a row brought the Bears to match point. Junior Lauren Budde then blocked one attempt back to the Pioneers, and Budde and freshman Meghan Byrne blocked the final attempt to the floor, giving Wash. U. the match and the regional title.

Byrne had 12 kills to lead the team, while Budde picked up 11 and freshman Tessa Blood had nine. Defensively, Pang’s 31 digs were a career high for a three-set match.

“We did a really good job scouting them,” Pang said. “Our blocks did a really good job of closing the seams and forcing the hitters to get certain angles, which made things a lot easier for our defense.”

On Friday, the Bears began the tournament on a high note by taking out Beloit in straight sets (25-18, 25-13, 25-11). The Red and Green’s hitters put on arguably their best show of the season: The team registered a phenomenal hitting percentage of .480 and committed a season-low three errors over the entire match.

“It was a good way to start off the run, going out and playing as hard as we can,” Fisher said. “Every game that we play from now on can be our last, and that was a driving factor behind how we played.”

Byrne’s 13 kills led the team, and Fisher ran the offense efficiently with 43 assists over the three sets.

Saturday’s match proved to be the weekend’s biggest challenge for Wash. U.; the team needed four sets to take out Wartburg (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 25-14). After falling behind in the first set and rallying from 19-23 down to take the set behind a great run of serves by Byrne.

Wartburg took the advantage late in the second set, taking three straight points to break a 22-22 tie and win the set 25-22.

With the score tied at 15-15 in the third set, the Bears, coming out of a time-out, took the next three points and never looked back, winning 25-19. The team saved its best volleyball for the fourth and final set, as they jumped out to a 7-1 lead and cruised to the set and match victory.

Budde, with 18 kills and a .342 percentage, was the leader of the Bears’ offense on the day, and the team made it through to the regional championship round—for the 24th straight season—despite hitting at its lowest mark of the season at .146.

“It’s very possible that our region was the toughest region in America,” head coach Rich Luenemann said. “We knew we were in for a good match [against Wartburg]. It wasn’t as though we were sluggish. When two good teams play each other…sometimes it comes down to a war of attrition. We executed very well.”

Pang (67 digs on the weekend), Budde (40 kills, 46 digs) and Byrne (38 kills) were named to the regional all-tournament team, and Budde was tabbed as the region’s most outstanding player.

The Bears have the home-court advantage for the final weekend of the season: the NCAA championship, hosted by Wash. U. at the Field House. The Red and Green will begin their weekend on Friday against University Athletic Association rival, No. 15 New York University. After taking their first loss of the season to the Violets back on Oct. 17, the Bears returned the favor by sweeping NYU in the University Athletic Association championship on Nov. 6.

The rubber match for the two squads begins on Friday at 8 p.m.

“It’s going to be amazing,” Pang said. “Anywhere you go, you want that same intensity, that same urgency, that focus, that drive, but being home is a comfortable feeling. I’m just really excited.”

Despite all these pressures, the team has picked up right where it left off last year, going undefeated at 14-0 so far and maintaining the top spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll. The Red and Green show no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Led by senior captains Marya Kaminski and Jennifer Varriano, the team has experienced nothing but success since its first match, already defeating several top-ranked schools, including No. 13 St. Olaf College, No. 4 Wittenberg University and arguably the team’s biggest rival in No. 2 Juniata College.

“We have an extremely talented and motivated team this year,” junior Kristen Thomas said. “There is intense competition for positions, and I think this has pushed all of us to continuously improve and play our best every day.”

In particular, junior Lauren Budde has been opening eyes once again. Following her performance in last year’s NCAA tournament, which earned her the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award, she leads the team so far in kills and blocks and is second in digs. Budde has made it clear that though winning another title is a goal, the team still has much to accomplish beforehand.

“Obviously, we want to repeat as national champions,” she said, “[But] our goals are simply to improve everyday, whether it be in a match or in practice…We need to focus on every single point during a match, because every point matters.”

In addition to individual contributions, one factor that has allowed the team to have so much success so far is the freshman class. In particular, freshmen Meghan Byrne, Tanya Marvi, Emily Tulloch and Tessa Blood have all been having terrific rookie seasons.

“[They] have been doing great for us, but all of them are doing really well, providing lots of competition, which pushes everyone to become better,” sophomore Kelly Pang said.

Another factor that many of the players have attributed to their success is the team’s chemistry, both on and off the court. “We have formed a special bond with one another and I think that we really feel like our own sort of family here, which is a huge component of our great team chemistry,” Thomas said.

While the team still has a long journey ahead to defend its national title, it seems the players are looking forward to the challenging competition that will come later in the season, particularly Emory University, which defeated the Bears in last year’s University Athletic Association Championship and is currently ranked third in the nation.

But no matter what happens at the end of the season, the players’ mentality of constant improvement seems to assure that the volleyball team will approach every match with as much focus and intensity as they have all season long.

Bill Stover | WUSTL Photo Services

Freshman Hannah Buck hits the ball on April 9 at the McKendree Spring Invitational at Cardinal Creek Golf Club.

With the regular golf season virtually over, the Bears are one of probably 11 teams competing for eight available spots. I figure, however, that three of those spots are just about locked up.

Methodist University, the 12-time defending champion, is almost assured a bid. I see another slot going to No. 4 Amherst College which, like Methodist, plays in a conference that does not have an automatic qualifier. I also think George Fox will get another even though they were upset by unranked Whitworth University in their conference championship by that single stroke.

Assume that, No. 9 Williams College, No. 10 Olivet College, No. 11 Southwestern College, No. 12 Allegheny College, No. 13 St. Lawrence University, Wash. U. and No. 15 Centre College will be the teams left jockeying for the remaining five tickets to the national championship tournament in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.

Comparing Wash. U. to those other teams is tough. I personally believe that Williams and Centre are two of the most underrated teams in Division III, but I also think St. Lawrence is not as impressive as their ranking suggests. So just focusing on the Bears, I’ve been going back and forth between whether I think they should or shouldn’t qualify. That captures the essence of their, and the selection committee’s, dilemma.

For Wash. U., it has been a tale of two teams. On one hand, there was the fall team that took the Division III golf world by storm after a win over a stacked field at the IWU Fall Classic. On the other, there is the spring team that struggled and posted a team average of more than 18 strokes worse than their fall score. The fall team definitely deserved it; it’s questionable whether the spring team does. But the decision is based on some broad criteria—that I think benefits the Bears—and the team’s full body of work.

I think they deserve a shot, though. If I had to judge which team was “the fluke,” I’d say it was the spring season.

It’s important to note that the good scores were still there in the spring; it was just the consistency that was lacking. In just about every round this spring, there were one or two impressive numbers, but the team scores got jacked up by the back nine. That wasn’t the case this fall though, showing that the back nine can be strong.

I also think this team is very solid on the individual level. I’d call freshman Hannah Buck one of the top 10 freshmen in Division III and fellow freshman Melanie Walsh isn’t too far behind. Likewise, sophomore Katie Homa has steadily, albeit quietly, improved her scores, and I get the sense that soon she could be a major contributor.

Finally, I think they’ve turned the corner, and it’s better late than never. The Bears showed signs of improvement the past couple of tournaments, and I think they’d end up being a worthy competitor down in Florida.

Objectivity aside, I want this team to make it down to nationals and you should too. It’s the last chance for a group of seniors who have shown unwavering dedication to really take in the fruit of their work. Senior co-captain Kris Zeschin said earlier in the spring that she and her fellow seniors want to go to nationals “about as bad as you can want it.” Unfortunately that’s not part of the criteria, but they still have hope.

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Women’s basketball head coach Nancy Fahey talks with the team during a timeout against George Fox. The No. 6 Bears advanced to the national semifinals in Bloomington, Ill., against top-ranked Amherst College with a 59-52 win over the No. 5 Bruins.

The words of senior co-captain Zoë Unruh resonated throughout the Washington University Field House after the No. 6 Washington University women’s basketball team defeated defending-champion George Fox University 59-52.

With the win on Saturday, the Bears earned a trip to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament in Bloomington, Ill.

The No. 5 Bruins defeated the No. 6 Bears in the NCAA championship game last season, but the Red and Green won at home for their ticket to the national semifinals.

Off an inbound pass, junior guard Alex Hoover put the first points on the board with a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. The Bears added several more shots and jumped to a 9-0 lead.

But George Fox fought back. After two consecutive Wash. U. fouls, the Bruins tied the game with 12:41 remaining in the half and then grabbed a two-point lead.

Needing to break the George Fox three-two zone, Wash. U. head coach Nancy Fahey inserted Claire Schaeperkoetter into the game. The sophomore ignited the Bears with three quick three-pointers and kept the team in the game, though the Bruins took a 27-24 lead into halftime.

“We knew we were going against the zone defense, and a lot of times you’ve got to spread out the zone by hitting outside shots,” Schaeperkoetter said. “I know that’s one of my roles when I go in, so I was just trying to be ready and looking for my open shot.”

At the opening of the second half, the Bears began to find seams in their opponent’s zone defense.

“There was a point where I went with all shooters on the outside. I felt like they were cheating off of people,” Fahey said. “I think it just separated them a little bit, made them play a little more extended—that was my intent.”

With 13 minutes left in regulation, on George Fox’s possession, the Bruins committed a turnover, and a layup by senior Janice Evans gave Wash. U. a lead it never relinquished.

“It’s tough against a zone if you’re not hitting your shots…What we wanted to do in the second half was just relax a little bit and hope [our] shots start falling,” Unruh said. “Once they did, we could build momentum, and we were kind of able to take it from there.”

George Fox narrowed the Bears’ lead to two after free throws from freshman Hannah Munger, but the Bears responded with a three-pointer from Unruh and continued to pull away to a game-high lead of 11.

“We were trying not to focus too much on [Munger] because we knew they had some outside threats as well,” Unruh said.”Our idea was that they might get some inside points, but we just wanted to make sure we contained the dribble drive.”

The Bears held the Bruins to 33.9 percent shooting for the game, and capitalized on points off the bench with 22 for the game. Schaeperkoetter finished with a career- and team-high 16 points, while Unruh and Evans added 13 in the win.

Munger led all scorers with 17 points, but the Bruins shot under 30 percent from the floor in the second half and just 1 of 10 from three-point range, allowing Wash. U. to pull away.

Although the games were held during spring break, the Bears drew a crowd of nearly 500.

“Despite it being spring break, I think we had more fans in the stand than we’ve had at our games when there have been students on campus,” Unruh said. “You’ve got to give it to [the fans]; they were a great crowd, very loud, very supportive.”

The Bears advance to face No. 1 Amherst (31-0) at 5 p.m. on Friday. The undefeated Lord Jeff’s average 76 points per game.

“It’s never easy in March,” Unruh said. “I think we’ve just got to continue playing our defense…I think our shots will be there. It’s really on the defensive end where we’ll be able to make a statement.”

The game will be a rematch of last season’s NCAA semifinal, which the Bears won 65-49. No. 4 Hope College (31-1) will meet the University of Rochester (23-6) in the other semifinal.

“We just had to play the defending national champion… as I told these kids, possession by possession,” Fahey said. “We know this team, we played them last year. I’m sure they’re feeling the same way we felt against George Fox, because we knocked them out.”

No. 17 Wash. U. fell to No. 1 Messiah College 1-0 on a goal from Amanda Naeher in the 23rd minute. Messiah did not lose a game all season. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

SAN ANTONIO — The Washington University women’s soccer team could go no further in their record setting season. Just a day after tying their program’s record with the 17th win in a single season, the Lady Bears fell 1-0 to Messiah College in the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer National Championship.

Despite a spirited counterattack in the waning minutes of the game, their efforts were for naught. The closest they came was a loft pass from senior Elyse Hanly to senior Emily Bylsma amid a large scramble of players. The shot found the left exterior of the net.”We did stay in till the end,” junior Laura McGinnis said. “We didn’t stop fighting.”

“As much as I wish we  had won, I’m not upset,” sophomore Emma Brown said. “This has been the best experience of my life.”

Brown, Felder and senior Libby Held were named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. ” I had no idea what was going on when they called my number,” Felder said. “We just enjoyed every minute. To get to have the longest season of any team, that’s all you could ask for.”

Amanda Naether, a Messiah player, found the lower right corner of the goal in the 23rd minute, sending the ball under freshman goalkeeper Clara Jaques. Jaques recorded three saves in the first half.

The Bears had some opportunities but were unable to finish as Messiah kept the game at high pressure. The Falcons had a 16-6 advantage in shots. Junior Laura McGinnis received a yellow card at the 66-minute mark.

Despite the loss, Wash. U. fans were still upbeat and spirited. “The last ten minutes were the best of the game,” junior Harry Beddo said. “Non-stop yelling, jumping, singing Glory WUSTL FC.”

There was still plenty to cheer about and the women’s soccer team expressed their appreciation for the fans who made the 16 hour journey. “It’s hard to rush the field when the NCAA and San Antonio police are standing right there,” junior Stephanie Dresner said. The 23 students on the fan bus were able to celebrate with the team on the field for a brief minute after the awards were handed out.
“As far as this weekend is concerned, we won the banquet, we won the boat ride, we won the picture, we won our game and  Messiah only won one game,” senior Paula Davis said.  “Overall, we won.  I feel like a winner. And we have the best fans. You can quote me on that.”

“Being able to make history at Wash. U. is an incredible feeling although we always want to acknowledge the people who came before us,” senior co-captain Carter Schwarberg said. “We’re playing for the Wash. U. family which is definitely bigger than just this team.”

Wash. U. struck first with a goal by Julie Tembunkiart in the waning minutes of the first half. A loft pass by classmate Laura McGinnis set up the score that found the bottom far corner of the net. “Laura passed it to me right in front of the goal. I was able to trap it with my thigh and slip it to the right past the keeper who came out to steal it from my foot,” Tembunkiart said.

The Lynchburg Hornets came back, capitalizing on a corner kick that was ruled an own goal by Wash. U. just 6 minutes into the second half. The two teams would compete with several shots off the goal post. Despite that, the 1-1 tie was not broken in regulation or in double overtime, forcing a shootout.

Freshman goalkeeper Clara Jaques saved the first shot while senior Libby Held’s penalty kick was blocked. “Today was much scarier than the penalty shootout against Wheaton. The Final Four is not just another game like some people tell you,” Jaques said. “I knew I needed to make a couple of saves to keep it in.”

Both sides traded penalty kicks, with senior Caryn Rosoff and sophomore Lee Ann Felder scoring for Wash. U. Sophomore Emma Brown’s shot was also stopped by the Hornet goalkeeper, but senior Becca Heymann found the top-right corner of the net. Jaques came up with the next save and Schwarberg stepped up for the deciding penalty. Earlier in the game, Schwarberg received a yellow card for a foul.

Schwarberg’s shot found the net sparking a celebration as her teammates rushed her. “Carter especially put the exclamation point at the end for what she’s done for this team emotionally all year,” head coach Jim Conlon said.

A group of students traveled down from St. Louis in a Wash. U.-sponsored fan bus on Thursday night. “It’s amazing to know that we have that many people supporting us and that the school’s got our back.”

The Bears face No. 1 Messiah College (24-0-1) at 1 p.m. on Saturday in San Antonio, Texas, to decide the 2009 Division III Women’s Soccer National Championship. “We really want to beat Messiah,” Tembunkiart said. “Messiah’s won this before. They’ve been here before. They’ve got both their girls and guys teams here. We want to be the lower-ranked team for the first time, beat them and have an upset.”

The Washington University men’s and women’s cross country teams placed 7th and 10th, respectively, at the NCAA Division III national championship meet Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio. (Joe Angeles | WUSTL Photo Services)

The men, entering the weekend meet in Cleveland unranked, placed seventh in their best finish in program history, while the women placed 10th.

The Lady Bears were led by junior Taryn Surtees with a time of 22:36 in the 5-kilometer race, which earned her 13th place overall and All-American honors for the second time in her career. She was followed by senior co-captain Molly Schlamb, who had a time of 23:07, earning her 35th overall. Behind her were junior Jessica Londeree (23:12, 39th place) and sophomore Elizabeth Phillips (24:11, 118th place).

“It was a challenging race,” Surtees said. “The conditions were less than ideal. The women’s team had a solid performance, but it wasn’t perfect.” The Red and Green improved on last year’s 12th place finish in their sixth straight year of running in the NCAA National Championship.

The men were led by sophomore Michael Burnstein with a time of 25:56, finishing in 16th place out of 220 runners in the 8-kilometer race. His performance garnered All-American honors. Burnstein was followed by junior Dave Spandorfer (26:30, 46th place), junior Kwin Keuter (26:41, 69th place) and sophomore Tucker Hartley (26:43, 72nd place).

“We never expected to get seventh. Our goal was just to land in the top 10, so we were blown away when we heard the results,” Burnstein said. This was the fifth time that the men have competed at the NCAA National Championships.

“The meet was incredible. I’ve never been so happy in my whole life,” Keuter said. “This season is proof that the Wash. U. men’s cross country team is one of the best in the country.”

For co-captain Molly Schlamb and the rest of the team’s seniors, the meet was bittersweet.

“I’m proud of the effort the women put into their races on such a tough course yesterday,” Schlamb said. “I’m sad that it was my last cross country race, but I was happy with my performance.”

Many runners are looking back on this season as a stepping stone for greater success in 2010.

“It was a good season and an important experience for our team. Next year we will return six of our top seven runners,” Surtees said. “We have a lot to look forward to.”

Others are focusing on training and making sure they’ll be ready for the winter. “I’m going to be training for some indoor races like the 5k until next season starts. I want to be in nationals again,” Burnstein said.

Most, however, are just happy to be able to relax finally. “Next year should be another awesome season,” Keuter said, “but for now I think we’re all content to bask in the glow of this season.”

Senior John Watts won the 2009 Division III ITA National Small College Championship singles title Sunday in Mobile, Ala. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Senior John Watts added another line to the already remarkable list of accomplishments in his career, capturing the ITA Division III Men’s Singles Championship for the second time in the last four years, without dropping a set.

“It was great to win the tournament,” Watts said. “It was a fantastic feeling when I was done with my finals match [Saturday] morning.”

Watts, coming off a first-place finish at the ITA Regional Tournament three weeks ago, has never stopped working this season to be ready for big tournaments like this one. “This year we worked on his slice, mostly his backhand slice, and we worked on his drop shot,” head coach Roger Follmer said. “He used a little bit of both this weekend, which he needed to do because he was pushed more here than he has been [recently].”

In the tournament, which took place in Mobile, Ala., Watts defeated Andy Peters of Middlebury in the finals in straight sets (6-3, 6-4), but he insists that the match was closer than the score indicates.

“I tried to mix up my game. I served pretty well, I came to the net and put him away at net,” Watts said. “A few little points here and there made a big difference.” Watts also dispatched Dillon Pottish of Emory (7-5, 6-0) and Hayden White of Washington and Lee (6-0, 6-2) en route to the finals.

Despite dropping their first match of the tournament to eventual runner-ups Dillon Pottish and Chris Goodwin of Emory, the doubles duo of juniors Isaac Stein and Max Woods won their next two matches on their way to securing fifth place in the field of eight teams.

“The first match didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to, but we knew no matter what happened we had two more matches left,” Stein said. “There was no point in just folding, giving up, so we woke up Friday morning and said, ‘All right, well, the best we can do is fifth, so let’s go out and do it.’”

Stein and Woods have attributed their success on the doubles circuit this year to their experience playing together. “I think we mesh very well together,” Woods said. “Our complementary playing styles help us out a lot.”

“Playing with each other since freshman year, there is this unspoken relationship that I really can’t describe,” Stein said. “We have played so many matches together over three years that we really have an advantage over a team that has only played together for one year.”

Follmer has confidence in these two juniors because of their balanced attack, but he still tries to make each player work on the weaker parts of his game so they can improve as a team.

“Isaac is the returner, and he’s got great hand-eye coordination on the return of serve, but we’ve improved his volleying, especially his half-volleying,” Follmer said. “Max has always been the better volleyer, but we’ve worked on doing different things on his return, sometimes lobbing his return, sometimes hitting his return.”

Follmer also stressed the familiarity among doubles partners as an important key for success.

“When you play with someone a lot, you get used to how to help them when they aren’t playing well and how to find a way to win because you communicate each point,” Follmer said. “The fact that those guys have played together since their freshman year—that’s a big advantage that they have over most teams here.”

In preparation for the spring, the team agrees that being able to stay fresh late in matches will be crucial in reaching next level of competitiveness.

“Fitness is a big part of the game,” said Woods. “If you aren’t in tip-top shape, it really hurts.”

The Bears resume play in early 2010 for the start of the spring season.