Nathaniel Margolies | Student Life

The Bears celebrate winning the Founder’s Cup trophy after defeating the University of Chicago on Saturday, November 12.

“This [win] feels amazing,” senior wide receiver Easton Knott said. “It’s just one of those things that hasn’t really sunk in yet. We just wanted to have a lot of fun, and I think it showed in the game. We played our butts off and got that cup back. It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”

The Bears fought well against tough teams all season long, from Carnegie Mellon University to Wabash College, but the team knew that the season would not be complete without a win against its biggest rival on senior day. Rebounding from a tough loss last weekend against Case Western Reserve University, Wash. U. played its sharpest game of the year, ending the season on a high note with a 6-4 winning record.

“It’s great to have the cup back,” senior linebacker Nick Hillard said. “It belongs in only one place: St. Louis.”

The Founder’s Cup commemorates the first football game played between two University Athletic Association schools. The Bears lead the Founder’s Cup series 18-7, with a 19-11 record against Chicago all-time.

In all four quarters of Saturday’s matchup, the Red and Green offense clicked on all cylinders both through the air and on the ground, while the defense did their best to keep Chicago out of the end zone, limiting the Maroons to only three red zone possessions, resulting in just a touchdown. The Bears committed no turnovers and capitalized on six scoring drives.

“The big thing was that we took the ball into the end zone a couple of times,” head coach Larry Kindbom said. “They had some really good receivers, and I think we did a good job of keeping them from being the highlight of the game. Our guys did a great job of responding to the challenge.”

Paul Goedeke | Student Life

Junior wide receiver Drew Sexton moves down the field on Saturday, November 12. The Bears defeated the University of Chicago to win the Founder’s cup trophy.

Although Wash. U.’s defense gave up 13 points in the first half, they shut the Maroons out throughout the third quarter and forced two timely interceptions and two sacks that prevented Chicago from scoring. Hillard made his presence felt as his 10 tackles helped stop Chicago on several drives.

Burkett scorched the field in the second half with accurate passing, throwing two touchdown passes to senior wide receiver Austin Morman and senior tight end Brennan Fox. The offensive line helped Castellucio run the ball well, as he racked up 139 yards.

“Burkett is just getting better and better every game,” Kindbom said. “He’s been working his way through. It was good to see the way things happened. Obviously, the receivers did a really good job of getting open and changing speeds on routes. It was a great performance.”

For the seniors, winning their last game on Francis Field against Chicago was a sweet ending for their careers as Wash. U. football players.

“Hopefully we’ve left a legacy of hard work and determination,” Knott said. “I think that’s the biggest thing we look at is that we came out every day and we worked our butts off. I think it showed in the end.”

For Kindbom, he’s proud of the passion that his team has brought to the field for every game, play and practice. He hopes to see this spirit carry over to the next season.

“Even though we were not always at our best, we always played passionately,” Kindbom said. “When you’re passionate about something, it’s going to have an effect, and our team certainly showed it.”

The Bears were down three players at various times this past weekend: senior captain Elise Sambol, sophomore Kate Klein, and freshman Betsy Edershile.

“It’s difficult. We keep dropping people from our starting lineup,” freshman Theresa Petraskova said. “But we adapted well to the situation and changed our lineup a bit and still did really well even with all the injuries.”

In doubles against Gustavus on Saturday, the team took a crucial 2-1 lead, proving that its doubles play is just as strong as its singles. While the Bears dropped the No. 1 doubles match, they triumphed in the other two doubles matches to pick up two points. Sophomore Paige Madara and freshman Corinne Rauck took No. 2 doubles, 8-6, to improve their doubles record to 6-0, while a new pair, junior Natalie Tingir and sophomore Katie Helfgott, won a close 9-8 (8-6) match at No. 3 doubles.

“[The team is] playing phenomenal at doubles by putting balls away and playing aggressive,” head coach Kelly Stahlhuth said. “Even if they are down a couple points, they are figuring out how to come back. The great thing about doubles is they aren’t quitting and they know they can win.”

The Bears gained the singles split they needed to come out with a victory. Tingir won in three sets at No. 2 and the team also won at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions. “One of our goals this season was to beat Gustavus, so we went out there ready to play,” Petraskova said. “When we were up 4-3 and just needed one more singles match to win, we all started cheering and supporting our team.”

Earlier in the day, the Bears earned two points in singles play against Chicago, but then dropped the No. 1 doubles to lose the match 5-2. Madara came back to win at No. 4 and Rauck won the match at No. 5.

“Chicago has always been a difficult team for us to play; we always have good matches against them that could have gone either way,” Petraskova said. “They always push us and make us work.”

Overcoming a 2-1 deficit, the team picked up its first victory of the weekend against DePauw University on Friday, winning 6-3 in the invitational’s quarterfinals.

Madara and Rauck were the team’s sole victors in doubles play at No. 3, pulling out a 9-8, 9-7 win. The Bears lost at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, only earning one point going into singles play.

Wash. U. had to win four of the six singles matches to gain the overall victory. The team only lost at the No. 1 position, posting an impressive 5-1 record in singles play against the Tigers.

All five of the singles victories came in straight sets, but several were still very close. Sambol’s 7-6 (14-12), 7-5 victory at No. 4 was the closest of the day.

“[Against] DePauw, we were down 2-1, but we knew that if we got a point in singles we would win,” Stahlhuth said. “We got that one-point and then the team pulled through, winning five singles matches.”

The Bears return to action against McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill., on Thursday, April 14.

Eric Chalifour | Student Life

Senior Spencer Gay drives to the basket in his final game in uniform for the Washington University Bears. Gay finished the game with 14 points and scored in double figures in 23 of 25 games this season.

Before Saturday’s contest at the Field House, the team honored its four seniors: Spencer Gay, Isaiah Honick, Caleb Knepper and Brett Sapp. Knepper also won the Pearce Award, which is given to a departing player for overall dedication to the team.

“Caleb’s attitude has been tremendous for all four years he has been at Wash. U.,” head coach Mark Edwards said. “This year, he came off the bench as a senior and an offensive threat, and it just worked better for us that way. He not only accepted it but relished in his role and provided good leadership for our team when we needed it.”

Because of poor shooting early in the game, the Bears trailed by five or more points for the majority of the first half.

“We made some mistakes early, couldn’t get the ball to go in, and then it was catch-up after that,” Edwards said.

With 12:59 left in the period, sophomore Ben Hoener pushed the ball from outside the arc to junior captain Dylan Richter for an electrifying alley-oop, making the score 15-7. However, the Maroons continued to fire and drain shots from all over the court.

“[Chicago] shot really well and hit some tough shots,” Hoener said.

Toward the end of the first half, the Bears narrowed Chicago’s advantage. A layup from freshman Tim Cooney and a jumper from sophomore Max Needle cut the lead to 31-27 by halftime. Hoener had five points, six assists and five rebounds in the first half, while Gay led the Bears with eight points. Gay ended the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Hoener drained a jump shot to start the second half and bring the Bears to within three points; however, Chicago responded with five unanswered points and grew the lead to 15 with 12:28 left.

The Bears fought back with a 16-6 run over the next seven minutes. Cooney scored 10 points during that span, but Wash. U. came only within five points. The Maroons drained three straight baskets with 3:40 remaining to lead by 12.

“We had our moments, but we just couldn’t get our game on track, and ultimately we just didn’t have enough in us,” Edwards said.

Hoener recorded his first career double-double, with 15 points and 10 assists, while Cooney tied his career-high of 19 points.

“Everybody had their moments,” Edwards said. “It was one of their games when we were trying to get everyone in sync, and we just came up short today.”

The team members were disappointed in the way they finished the season but remained positive, especially about the future.

“It’s not the way we wanted to end the season, but we are not defining our whole season by that game,” Richter said. “We went through a lot, had some great times and are going to remember our seniors.”

“If a few things had gone a different way, [the season] would be completely different,” Hoener said. “We had a few young guys play and gain valuable experience, so hopefully looking to next year we have a lot of people with good experience.”

The No. 16 Bears dropped a challenging match to No. 4 University of Chicago 8-1 last Saturday in Belleville, Ill.

The Maroons boasted four of the region’s top players in singles in addition to the top two doubles teams. But according to senior captain Elise Sambol, their opponent’s ranking did not affect the Bears’ strategy for the match.

“Honestly I don’t know any of the opponents’ ranking…we just know as a team overall they were very tough, and they won’t take it easy on us,” Sambol said. “We know that if they make a mistake, it’s not going to happen very often, and we need to take advantage of it…we don’t think about [rankings] when we step on the court.”

The Maroons swept Saturday’s doubles. Sophomore Kate Klein and junior Natalie Tingir fell to Kendra Higgins and Chrissy Hu 8-1 in the number-one spot, the Maroons’ Carmen Vaca Guzman and Linden Li defeated freshmen Evelyn Qin and Betsy Edershile 8-4 in second doubles and Sambol and freshman Theresa Petraskova also lost 8-4 to Jennifer Kung and Aswini Krishnan at third doubles.

According to head coach Kelly Stahlhuth, however, the setback in doubles did not affect the team’s overall effort.

“The nice thing is, every single person fought every point. Being down 3-0 after doubles, it can be easy to say ‘it’s tough, they’re really strong’…so it’s nice to say we didn’t quit,” she said.

Stahlhuth added that she noticed the Bears could improve their performance with a more sustained effort in doubles matches, something she hopes to address as the team prepares for the long season, which will extend late into the spring.

“We have a few things we can work on, so I’ve started to figure that out [for] the next couple weeks of practice,” Stahlhuth said. “Doubles we played half of the match pretty strong, so now we’ve got to work on the other half, the ending.”

Sambol’s 6-3, 6-0 victory over Tiffany Nguyen at sixth singles marked the Bears’ only victory for the day.

“Overall I think this year we definitely have the talent to beat [Chicago], it just didn’t work out that way…I think if we would have won at least one of our doubles [matches], that could have changed the attitude into singles,” Sambol said. “Going into singles up 3-0 instead of down 0-3 takes some of the pressures off the singles players…it was tough to come out strong right away.”

Sambol noted she was encouraged by the team’s depth—the Bears acquired several new players through recent transfers to Wash. U.

“This year we’re really fortunate to have such a deep team…we have a lot of newbies on the team, and they’re really driven and motivated,” Sambol said. “That will really help us out in April because the season is so long that sometimes when it comes to UAA[s], we’re really exhausted.”

The Bears return to action Saturday in St. Charles, Mo. to face the University of Southern Indiana. The match against the Screaming Eagles is set to begin at 12:30 p.m.

The winner of the game will also be awarded the Founder’s Cup, a trophy that celebrates the founding of the UAA by Wash. U. and Chicago.

Interested students can reserve a spot on the bus by bringing a $20 deposit to Chris Mitchell in the Department of Athletics. The deposits will be returned upon boarding the bus.

Drew Koch | Student Life

Sophomore Brian Wright attempts to head the ball into the Chicago net on Nov. 6.

With the victory, the Bears secured second place in the University Athletic Association, one point behind conference champion New York University, and improved their final regular-season record to 14-1-4.

“We knew Chicago was going to be a good team and an organized team and [we] thought we responded pretty well,” said captain Alex Neumann, a senior.

The Bears were the first on the board when sophomore midfielder Kenji Kobayashi drove past Maroons defenders and connected on a shot to the corner of the net in the 28th minute, out of the reach of Chicago keeper Mason Harless.

The Bears would not keep the lead for long, however. The Maroons responded with a goal of their own less than three minutes later.

Despite an 8-4 tilt in shots that favored Wash. U. in the first half, the Red and Green allowed Chicago a 7-6 advantage in the second half. According to Neumann, second-half adjustments allowed the Bears to prevent the Maroons from capitalizing on their opportunities.

“We made some adjustments to their playing style, and I think after that, we really picked our game up,” Neumann said. “We were facing some problems in the midfield because they were playing a 4-3-3, so they were always outnumbering us in the midfield. We had to get communication between our wing midfielders and center backs in order to get someone to shift in and pick up their extra man.”

The Maroons had several chances as regulation drew to a close, recording four shots in the final 10 minutes, but freshman goalie Jonathan Jebson held off the Chicago attack.

“When the defense fell down, Jonathan Jebson came up big,” head coach Joe Clarke said. “I think he made two really good saves in that period…games are going to ebb and flow; you’re never going to hold a good team down and never give them any chances.”

As the game entered the first overtime period, the Bears quickly put the Maroons to rest in just 1:41 of play. A corner kick from senior midfielder Cody Costakis set up a play for fellow senior John Duncan 25 yards outside the box. Duncan drilled the ball into the net, and his teammates rushed to the field in celebration.

“[The play was] nothing new…we just haven’t done the best in all of our overtimes, so we tried to focus on keeping the ball on the ground and putting them under pressure,” Costakis said.

The Bears learned Monday that they would be one of four teams receiving a first-round bye in this year’s NCAA tournament. This weekend, Wash. U. will host its second-round matchup against the winner of Thursday’s game between Loras College and Greenville College. The Bears defeated both squads earlier in the season.

“Obviously [we are looking forward to] the tournament. A lot of us have never played in it,” Costakis said. “For the seniors, it’s been three years—so I’m excited.”

One additional challenge that the Bears will face are recent injuries to two key players on the back line. Senior Randall Schoen underwent surgery on Friday, Nov. 5, for an injury suffered against Brandeis on Oct. 29, and fellow senior Harry Beddo was sidelined for most of Saturday’s game after a hard foul. The team remains hopeful about the return of the starters.

“Injuries are kind of popping up at the wrong time of year,” Clarke said. “But we have depth. That’s why you have more than 10 players on the team—it’s for players to step in and do a good job…for our seniors, we have one goal and that’s for Randy Schoen to play again.”

If the Bears face Greenville, NCAA second-round action will begin on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. at Francis Field. A matchup with Loras would be scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m.

Matt Lee | Student Life

Senior Julie Tembunkiart fends off University of Chicago sophomore Bridgette Kragie this past Sunday in the Bear’s final game of the season. The Maroons won the contest 1-0.

Motivated by a must-win situation, the Bears came out from the starting whistle with a new fire.

“We knew that our season was on the line, so we gave everything we had,” sophomore goalkeeper Clara Jaques said.

The No. 21 Maroons scored in the 17th minute when, from 25 yards out, forward Sarah Loh ripped the ball from the top left corner of the box. The ball ricocheted off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net.

Even though they were disheartened by the goal, the Bears continued to press the Maroons’ defense. Freshman Jessica Johnson nearly scored after junior captain Emma Brown played a through-ball to her, but the shot was saved.

The Bears’ best scoring opportunity of the first half came with 12 seconds left. Like Loh, Brown shot the ball from 25 yards out and also hit the underside of the crossbar. Her shot rebounded outward instead of into the goal.

“We played very well, very hard, put them under, had a lot of goal scoring opportunities,” head coach Jim Conlon said. “Unfortunately, the game didn’t treat us well.”

Wash. U. outshot Chicago 8-6 in the first half, but the Maroons had a 6-2 advantage in terms of shots on goal.

Entering the second half, the Bears picked up their intensity. “I thought the second half especially was the best half we have played all season,” junior Lee Ann Felder said. “I was really proud, and I just had fun playing.”

The Bears controlled play in the second half, out-shooting the Maroons 11-2.

“The sense of urgency was there,” Conlon said. “We matured late in the year, and they [the players] brought what was capable of Bears’ soccer.”

The Bears had numerous scoring opportunities from Brown, freshman Lauren Steimle, and senior captain Julie Tembunkiart. Brown took four shots in the second period, three on goal.

“Steimle, as always, was working like a crazy person,” Felder said. “Emma was going insane the whole game.”

Late in the game, Wash. U. nearly scored twice. Off a cross from Johnson, Tembunkiart shot the ball off the crossbar. Steimle corralled the rebound and ripped the ball toward the goal while Gormley was out of the net, but a Maroons defender came out of nowhere and headed the ball out of danger.

“I thought we were the better team today, and we just couldn’t put one in the back of the net,” Conlon said.

Despite the loss, the team members were very happy with how they played. “We put in a tremendous effort and left everything on the field,” Jaques said. “It’s upsetting that we didn’t get the win, but I don’t think we could have done anything different.”

“Every single person came out and did what was needed,” Conlon said. “There wasn’t one standout, everyone played fabulous.”

Before the game, the team honored its lone senior Tembunkiart in her last regular season game. During her four years at Wash. U., Tembunkiart played in 68 games, making 37 starts and collecting 16 career points.

The NCAA Division III women’s soccer selection show will be streamed live on www.ncaa.com on Monday, Nov. 8 at 8 a.m. The Bears are eligible for an at-large bid.

Denton Zhou | The Observer

Senior running back Jim O’Brien runs through a hole against Case Western Reserve University on Saturday. O’Brien carried the Bears to victory with 150 yards on 28 carries and scored both Wash. U. touchdowns in the 14-13 victory.

Wash. U. (7-2) came back from two turnovers and a 13-7 deficit to hand the Spartans (7-2) with their second consecutive loss 14-13. The Spartans had won 38 games in a row in the regular season over the past three seasons.

Defensively, four players finished with 10 tackles or more for the Bears. Junior linebacker Kyle Larkin led the way with 15 tackles. The defense held Case to an average of 4 yards per play and came up with big stops when called upon, such as after senior quarterback Stephen Sherman’s interception in the third quarter. 

“The coaches put together a solid game plan, and we were able to execute,” Larkin said. “We were able to slow down their attack well enough to win the game. Our defense is all about teamwork, and we feed off of each other’s energy. We pride ourselves on playing fast, being physical and playing with passion.”

The three-and-out following Sherman’s interception ended in a blocked punt by freshman Michael Rademacher that gave Wash. U. the ball at the Case 46-yard line. The offense marched into the end zone in six plays, with O’Brien’s 3-yard touchdown run giving the Bears a 14-13 lead that they would not relinquish.

“The coaching staff did a great job figuring out which specific plays were working against their defense,” O’Brien said. “We stuck to those plays and the O-Line and H-Backs totally dominated the blocking game. There were times when Case’s defense knew what was coming, but they still couldn’t stop it because our guys did such an amazing job of firing out and blocking.”

However, the game was far from over.

The Spartans opened the fourth quarter by marching the ball 85 yards in 17 plays to the Wash. U. 3-yard line when the special teams unit came through again. Senior cornerback Brandon Brown came around the edge and blocked the 20-yard field goal attempt by Sam Coffey to preserve the lead for the time being. Coffey has connected on the most field goals in Spartan history and had made his first two attempts from 21 and 44 yards out.

“We have always put a lot of emphasis on our special teams, and we take each opportunity to practice our field goal block seriously,” said Brown, who also broke up three passes. “We’ve already blocked several kicks this year coming up the middle, so I guess that’s what Case had been preparing for. In doing that, they left me free to come off the edge.  I got a good jump on the snap, along with them not getting the hold down perfectly clean.”

Case Western got the ball back with 2:13 left to play and promptly drove 57 yards in 14 plays, sending the field goal unit on the field with 13 seconds left. Junior defensive lineman Daniel Sufranski blocked the 43-yard field goal attempt, sealing the upset.

Next week, the Bears travel to Chicago to face the University of Chicago (7-2) in the University Athletic Association regular season finale. The winner of the game will win the conference championship, as well as the Founder’s Cup, which is a trophy commemorating the founding of the UAA, and will have a chance at making the playoffs.

“This might be the biggest game us seniors will play in over the last four years, and we wouldn’t want it any other way,” O’Brien said. “It will all come down to this matchup against our biggest rival. They are a good team, and we will have to be our best to beat them.”

The Maroons are coming off a 61-22 victory over Carnegie Mellon, whom the Bears defeated 20-13 in overtime last week. The game will begin at 12 p.m.

Johann Qua Hiansen | Student Life

TThen-sophomore Michael Burnstein runs in the Washington University Early Bird Meet on Sept. 5, 2009. Burnstein won the men’s individual UAA cross country title on Oct. 30.

The men won the University Athletic Association championships for the first time since 2003 while the women’s team won for the first time since 2005. This was only the second time in conference history in which both champions came from the same school.

“There were really strong performances across the board, which is definitely what contributed to the win for both teams,” freshman Gabby Reuveni said. “What was really phenomenal about both races [on Saturday] was that each individual gave 100 percent effort, making the team success that much more exciting,”

Running at one of the most well-known courses in the world, each team put on an extremely impressive performance at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York. Junior Michael Burnstein became the second student-athlete in school history to win the men’s individual championship, taking the race with a time of 25:40 on the 8-km course. Co-captain Liz Phillips, a junior, led the women’s team, finishing fourth overall with a time of 22:07 on the 6-km. course.

“I didn’t feel great going into the race, so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel in the actual race, if I’d have my legs under me. With 600 meters left, I had the most left at that point, so it worked out,” Burnstein said. “We’ve had a lot of cross country success, especially recently, so it’s an honor to be up there with the greats.”

Other impressive performances from the men’s team came from senior Dave Spandorfer, a co-captain, who came in fourth with a time of 25:42, and sophomore David Hamm, who finished ninth with a time of 26:01.

“Winning UAAs was one of our primary goals coming into the season, and doing so reflects what we’ve accomplished to this point and what we’re capable of accomplishing in the next few weeks,” junior Daniel Rosenbaum said.

On the women’s side, senior Jessica Londreree finished in sixth place with freshman and UAA rookie of the year Sarah Fisher finishing right behind her in seventh place.

“It was definitely one of the most exciting days in Wash. U. [cross country] history,” Phillips said.

What made this victory particularly impressive for the men’s team was the fact that they defeated New York University, a team which was not only ranked ahead of Wash. U. in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll and took fourth place last year at nationals, but a team that had also won the previous four UAA championships.

“NYU is a great program and the model for excellence in the UAAs,” Spandorfer said.

Similarly, the women earned a special victory by coming in as underdogs and defeating NYU and the University of Chicago, teams they had lost to just two weeks ago at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational.

Despite the achievements over the weekend, the Bears have little time to rest, as they are just getting started with the postseason. In two weeks, both the men’s and women’s teams will travel to the 2010 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Championships.

“Our season’s hardly done. We’re just heading back to work now and focusing on what we sought to accomplish in the beginning: to qualify for nationals and then do the best we can at the meet,” Spandorfer said. “We’re getting stronger by the week, and our training has set us up to do pretty cool things.”

The Midwest Regional Championships will be held on Nov. 13 in Credit Island, Ill. The race is set to begin at 11 a.m.

With additional reporting by Kurt Rohrbeck.

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Junior Lauren Budde kills the ball against St. Olaf College on Sept. 10.

The Bears’ record now stands at 17-0 on the season and 3-0 in UAA play.

“The UAA is an incredibly strong volleyball conference,” head coach Rich Luenemann said. “There’s no way you can afford not to come in intensely prepared and incredibly motivated. All of these teams play their butts off against us.”

In beating Chicago, Wash. U. took down a nationally ranked opponent for the seventh time this season—in arguably the closest match for the Bears this year. The team dropped its first two sets against the Maroons before rallying to a five-set victory (18-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-20, and 15-10).

“They scouted us really, really well,” sophomore Marilee Fisher said of Chicago. “They knew our tendencies, and they were able to use that to their advantage. They had no player that was really weak at anything.”

Nothing seemed to be going the right way for the Bears in the first two sets; Chicago held a .391 hitting percentage for the first set, and in the second, with sophomore libero Kelly Pang injured and the Bears hitting .056, Chicago brought Wash. U. to what had been uncharted territory this year: an 0-2 deficit.

“We just didn’t get into a consistent flow,” junior Lauren Budde said. “Chicago was just digging up everything. They got to balls that I don’t know how.”

When Pang re-entered the lineup in the third set, the Bears slowly started to gain control of the match. Two outside hitters—sophomore Drew Hargrave and freshman Tessa Blood—combined for nine kills to lead the charge and win the set.

The fourth set also went the Bears’ way, as the Red and Green were the beneficiaries of multiple strong plays from freshman Meghan Byrne, including two aces. The Bears’ offensive efforts, combined with Chicago’s .074 hitting percentage on the set, brought the match to a stalemate.

Having one set to keep their undefeated run going, the Bears saved their best hitting for the final set of the match. Byrne and Hargrave tallied four kills each in the fifth set, helping the team to a .381 percentage. Blood’s final kill closed down the set at 15-10 and the match at 3-2.

For the match, the Bears had four players with double-digit kills—Hargrave (16), Byrne (13), Budde (13) and Blood (11). Pang’s 20 digs led the team in spite of her injury, while Fisher’s 49 assists paced the offense.

Also of note was sophomore Meg Buker, who played back row in Pang’s place and then continued to play even when Pang returned.

“If we had a game ball to present, that would go to Meg Buker,” Luenemann said. “She stepped into a defensive specialist role and played magnificently. Magnificently.”

Fortunately for the Bears, none of the other matches of the weekend provided quite the drama of their final match. Outside of a loss in the third set, the Red and Green had very little trouble with Rochester earlier on Sunday, taking every other set by a fairly decisive margin for a 3-1 (25-14, 25-16, 21-25, 25-15) victory. The same four players from the Chicago match led the offensive charge, with Budde’s 14 kills leading the way while Byrne, Hargrave and Blood tallied 11, 11 and 10, respectively.

Saturday’s lone match was the least suspenseful of the weekend, with the Bears grabbing a 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-16) win over Brandeis to kick off the weekend. Highlighted by a second set in which Wash. U. hit a scorching .484, the Bears made quick work of the Judges. Luenemann emptied out the bench, with 14 of the team’s 18 players recording a kill, assist, dig or block in the match.

Wash. U. continues play this weekend at home in the Bears Classic. They will begin play against Westminster College at 5:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 8.