“The fact that eight people came and eight people are All-Americans is a big deal,” head coach Brad Shively said. “You take for granted that you are a good swimmer, but the fact is that every swimmer here is a good swimmer. It is difficult to [be an All-American]. You can’t take for granted an All-America performance. It is probably the thing that makes me proudest.”

The men’s side finished in 16th place Knoxville, Tenn., their ninth straight top-20 finish, while the women finished in 24th place, their ninth straight top-25 finish.

“I am proud that we have been able to get people to the actual meet,” Shively said. “The girls only had two swimmers and still made the top-25. The point is that you have to score. It’s a testament to them that they did so well. We’ve got to get more people here, and we need to do better, but I’m not disappointed. I think we did our very best.”

The men opened the Championships with a bang, earning seventh-place in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of senior Kartik Anjur, freshman Brian Carpenter, sophomore Brendan Morin and senior David Chao posted a time of 1:31.95, good for a new Wash. U. record.

Morin shined the next day, shaving .15 seconds off his school-record time in the 100-yard butterfly. He posted a time of 49.72, good for 13th place, to become the first men’s swimmer in Wash. U. history to earn All-America honors in the event.

Anjur was the star on day three, earning two All-America honors on the day. He broke his own school record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 49.85 and finished tenth overall. The 800-yard freestyle relay team of Chao, Anjur, sophomore Mark Minowitz and junior Chris Valach finished ninth overall with a time of 6:42.62, the ninth-straight All-America finish in the event for the Bears.

The fourth day belonged to Chao who ended his tenure at Wash. U. with 14 All-America distinction after a 12th place finish in the 100-yard freestyle with a season-best time of 45.28.

Chao then closed out the meet for the Red and Green by swimming as the anchor of the 400-yard freestyle relay. Minowitz, Anjur and Morin kept the Bears neck and neck with Middlebury College until Chao swam a 44.54-second anchor leg to win the consolation final.

“Winning the consolation final in the relay last night, the guys getting really into their heats, Kartik Anjur having the great 100-back, Chao with the lifetime bests, each one of those is a big deal,” Shively said.

The women were led once again by freshman Chi Pham, who earned two All-America honors. Her first came with a fifth-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke, where her school-record-breaking time of 56.09 seconds was only .88 seconds behind the winner.

“That morning, I had already had a [personal]-best time, so I was pretty stoked,” Pham said. “I was going out pretty slow in the morning, so in the finals, I tried to fix what was going on in the morning. I was just pumped to be in the top eight.”

Pham’s second All-America swim came when she won the consolation final in the 200-yard individual medley. Although she swam the seventh-best time in the final round, Pham finished ninth overall.

Freshman Grace Murray was the only other competitor for the Wash. U. women at the meet, and she earned All-America honors in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Murray’s time of 17:12.99 was a personal best and good for 10th place.

“It was going into my last race of the season, and I got seeded in a good lane. My goal was to do better than I did at conference, and it worked out well,” Murray said.

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams finished their seasons ranked 13th and 12th in the nation, respectively.

(L-R) Forwards sophomore Lee Ann Felder, sophomore Emma Brown and senior Caryn Rosoff console each other after falling 1-0 to Messiah College in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer National Championship on Dec. 5. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The rankings would have put No. 1 Messiah College five goals ahead of No. 17 Washington University, the same score the Falcons won with last year. But the underdog gave the No. 1 team a true batttle, allowing only one Messiah goal in 90 minutes and nearly sending the game into overtime.

“The score was only one-nothing. Last year, [the championship game] was five nothing,” junior Laura McGinnis said. “We did stay in it till the last minute. We didn’t stop fighting.”
The Falcons, who are on a 56-game unbeaten streak, held the Bears to six shots in San Antonio on Saturday, with only one on goal, one of their lowest amounts this season, en route to the Falcons’ second straight NCAA Division III national title.

Offensive opportunities were few and far between, except for the last few minutes of the game as the Red and Green were determined to leave all their efforts on the field. In the 89th minute, senior Emily Bylsma took the last shot the team had in the game.

“The last few minutes were pretty exciting…We were pressing until the very end,” Bylsma said. “Elyse [Hanly] had a really good cross, and the keeper managed to get a hand on it, and I was off by a few inches or a foot from getting a better shot off.”

The Bears had the daunting task of recovering after Friday’s draining game against Lynchburg College, which they won in sudden-death penalty kicks. Coming back on the field less than 24 hours later to try to defeat the team that had won the championship last year in a decisive 5-0 rout was a challenge the Bears came very close to overcoming.

In addition to stifling the Bears’ normally effective attack, the Falcons took 16 shots and were awarded two corner kicks to the Red and Green’s zero. Wash. U.’s lack of opportunities, namely corner kicks, sealed the Bears’ fate.

Messiah found the back of the net in the 23rd minute of the first half when Amanda Naeher received a cross and shot just outside the box into the near corner of the goal, just inches past the diving freshman goalie Clara Jaques, who had six saves throughout the game.

The Falcons kept the Bears’ momentum in check as they opened the game with three forwards, something head coach Jim Conlon had not expected.

“They had us on our heels in the first half with three forwards, and we were able to adjust,” Conlon said. “They did get the goal in the first half, but we just could not get the equalizer.”

Even when the time was short, Wash. U.’s effort was relentless. The Bears’ passion was matched closely by the 23 students on the fan bus, namely the “Conlon Crazies,” a group of men’s soccer players and other fans. According to Bylsma, one of the referees commented on how impressed she was with the dedicated Wash. U. fans.

Senior captain Libby Held and sophomores Emma Brown and Lee Ann Felder were named to the NCAA championship all-tournament team.

The team’s group of eight graduating seniors led the team to its best NCAA appearance in history, making it to the Final Four for the second time ever and the first championship game appearance.

The group also led the team to four consecutive UAA championships.

“These eight seniors have been through a lot together—been through coaching switches, people playing, not playing, people quitting…It’s all about the heart and the common goal all of us shared from the beginning,” senior captain Carter Schwarberg said. “I love my team; I’m so proud of them, and I know they’ll be here next year.”

While the departing eight will be sorely missed in next year’s roster, their influence will remain.

“I’m just excited that our team made it this far,” Brown said. “Our seniors especially pulled our team together. I’ve never been on a team that played for each other as hard as we played for each other all season.”

With additional reporting from San Antonio by Johann Qua Hiansen

Senior Libby Held clears the ball in the national championship game over the weekend. Wash. U. fell 1-0 in the game against Messiah College who repeated as national women’s soccer champions with a 25-0-1 record. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Senior Becca Heymann heads the ball in the national championship game against Messiah College. The Bears fell 1-0 in their program’s first-ever appearance in the national championship game. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Junior John Watts hits a backhand at a match in the Bear's 5-3 victory over Gustavus Adolphus College in the NCAA Quarterfinals. (Matt Mitgang)

Washington University’s men’s tennis team saw their school record setting 19 match win streak end and finished fourth in the NCAA Championships.

The top ranked Bears were upset 5-2 by No. 6 Amherst College in the NCAA national semifinal round on Wednesday. That loss was the team’s first since Feb. 22, setting up another battle with UAA rival Emory University in the third place match.

Emory defeated the Red and Green 5-3 to take third nationally. The Bears held the 2-1 advantage after doubles play as junior John Watts and senior Nirmal Choradia delivered the No.3 doubles point with an 8-2 win. Seniors Charlie Cutler and Chris Hoeland then won at No. 1 doubles. The momentum started shifting as Emory won three straight singles points. Down 4-2, Watts had a 6-3, 2-6 and 6-3 win at No. 1 singles over Michael Goodwin. Emory’s Chris Redmond defeated Hoeland 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, sealing the Bears’ fate.

With Wash. U.’s loss, both teams continued their recent trend of trading wins. Wash. U. defeated Emory in the 2008 NCAA championship match. Emory then triumphed over the Bears in the 2009 ITA Division III Indoor Team Championships in February. Wash. U. captured its first UAA championship in school history after defeating Emory in April.

In the Amherst match, Wash. U. took only one of three doubles points as Watts and Choradia won at No. 3 doubles. Watts delivered the only other point with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Zach Lerner. Amherst picked up wins at the No. 2, 5, and 6 slots securing their trip to the championship match.

Wash. U. cruised through most of the tournament after securing a first round bye. In the second round, the Red and Green swept Carthage College 5-0. The Bears then defeated No. 12 DePauw University 5-0 in the Central Regional Championship match.

The Red and Green encountered some difficulty with No. 9 Gustavus Adolphus College with only a 5-3 win. Sophomore Isaac Stein, junior Danny Levy and Hoeland all picked up singles wins at No. 4, 5 and 6 respectively. Watts and Choradia won at No. 3 doubles while Stein teamed with classmate Max Woods in a victory at No. 2 doubles.

Watts competes in the NCAA Men’s Singles Championships while Hoeland and Cutler aim for the Doubles Championship. First round action begins on May 22.