Student Life Archives

-While most Washington University students were getting ready for their first taste of chilling winter weather this past weekend, the men and women of WU swimming were off somewhere in middle America, DePauw University in Indiana to be specific, stripping down to their skivvies and strutting their stuff in the year’s final swimming invitational dual meet.
The meet featured nine men’s and women’s teams from schools such as Illinois Wesleyan, Principia, Wittenberg and Wabash.
The men’s swimming team defended its 2000 DePauw Swimming Invitational Title and won their second straight invitational of 2001, amassing 852 points and trouncing their closest competitor, perennial rival Wabash, by an amazing 121 points.
“I think we were confident that we were going to do well because we put in some of the hardest training we have ever done before the meet, giving us the confidence that we were prepared,” said sophomore James Prescott.
The women’s team also fared quite well, putting up 789.5 points and finishing in second place, just 16 points shy of host DePauw University. The third-place team was Wittenberg College, who totaled only 539 points.
“We never like to lose, but we had some great swims and many best times,” said junior Rachel Feldman. “Saturday night I thought that every single one of us gave each race everything we had. It just wasn’t enough this time.”
WU men’s swimmers dominated several events on Saturday, most notably the 200-yard freestyle in which WU swimmers Matt Johnson, Brian Hindman and Nate Gosse finished the race in first, second and third places, respectively, earning 53 points for the Bears.
“I think a swimmer who had an exceptional meet was Brian Hindman,” said Prescott. “Throughout the entire meet he was dropping a lot of time and was swimming real fast for this time of season.”
Other first place finishes for the men included Mike Hernandez in the 200- and 400-yard Individual Medleys, Matt Johnson in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles and Jon Vigdorchik in the 100-yard butterfly.
The WU men’s 400-yard freestyle relay “A” team took home first place, beating out Wabash by more than two seconds. The WU “B” relay team finished an impressive fifth in the freestyle relay, beating out five other schools’ “A” relay teams.
WU men’s relay teams also finished first in the 800- yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay.
WU faces rival Wabash again at home on January 19th and after this weekend’s big victory,
“They are going to want to come down here and beat us to return the favor and get a little redemption,” said Prescott.
For the WU women, the meet was a two-horse race in which they always seemed to come up just short of the DePauw swimmers. In eleven different races, DePauw was the only school to finish ahead of WU.
“I think we have a strong girls team, but DePauw was just a little bit stronger. They have a little more depth in their strokers. I was very happy and proud of how the girls team did,” said freshman Su Wang.
Perhaps it was the “home-pool” advantage of DePauw that kept the WU women from winning their second straight invitational tournament, but the weekend did not pass without several Bears shining in their individual races.
First place showings were turned in by Rachel Feldman in the 200-yard freestyle and Lindsay Wilkinson in the 200-yard individual medley.
“I went into the meet seeded sixth and ended up winning pretty much in the last 25 yards of the race. I love the whole ‘come-from behind’ win. Plus, I finally went under 2:00, which was really exciting,” said Feldman of her 200-yard freestyle victory.
The abundance of second place finishes by the WU women included Sarah Goldberg in the 500-yard freestyle, Jessica Schneider in the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes, Feldman in the 100-yard freestyle, Wang in the 100- and 200-yard butterflies and Brianna Krull in the 400-yard Individual Medley.
WU women relay teams had a fine meet as well, winning the 800-yard freestyle relay and placing second in the 400-yard freestyle relay as well as the 200- and 400-yard Medley relays.

Contact Daniel at [email protected]

Week 12 in the NFL saw several great games with close finishes. A few teams kept themselves alive with much needed wins while others can pack it up for the year. The playoff picture became both clearer and murkier at the same time. What does it all mean? Well, with this being the last issue before the playoffs, here are my predictions.

AFC Predictions:
In the AFC Central Pittsburgh is a lock on the division. They will go 13-3, losing to Baltimore in a couple of weeks and then running the table. Week 17 is tough, however, with a game against Cleveland, who will need a win to get into the playoffs.
Out west, Oakland will also waltz into the post-season. They should win out to claim a share of first place in the conference.
The East is where things get interesting. Miami, New England and New York all have a shot at the division. New York has three difficult road games and would need to win two of those games to win the division. So between Miami and New England it will come down to Week 15 in Foxboro Stadium. The Dolphins will enter at 9-4 after a loss to San Francisco, and the Pats take care of Cleveland at home and come in at 9-5. Tom Brady calmly leads New England to a win to seal the division. Miami still goes 11-5 and clinches a wild card berth.
Baltimore gets one of the other spots with a 12-4 record. The other spot is really up for grabs. If New York can win one of their road games against Pittsburgh, Indianapolis or Oakland they will get the final spot. If they can’t and Cleveland can beat either New England, Green Bay or Pittsburgh, they will claim the berth. That makes Week 17 at Pittsburgh a great game to watch, especially after the Browns’ 15-12 loss to the Steelers back in Week 9.
So we have New England, Oakland and Pittsburgh winning their divisions with Baltimore, Miami and the Jets picking up wild card spots.

NFC Predictions:
In the NFC Central the race will be very tight between Chicago, Green Bay and Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay is just too far back with games remaining against Chicago, New Orleans, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The division will be decided this weekend when Chicago heads up to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. The Bears try to avenge a 20-12 loss suffered in Week 9, but Favre is too much. The Pack wins and they control their own destiny. Chicago will win out as long as they can beat Tampa Bay at home so Green Bay must also run the table to win the division. But in week 17 the G-Men wait in New York, and they will be playing for a wild card spot. The Packers take care of business in NY and win the division.
In the West, the division will also be decided in this coming weekend when San Francisco comes to St. Louis. The Rams win to clinch the division. Even if the Rams lose to San Fran they still have a much easier schedule with games remaining against New Orleans, Carolina, Indianapolis and Atlanta compared to Miami, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Dallas for San Francisco.
The East is tight with everyone wallowing in mediocrity. But, Philly beats the Giants in Week 16 at Veterans Stadium to clinch the division.
So that gives us Philadelphia, St. Louis and Green Bay winning the divisions and Chicago, San Francisco and Tampa Bay earning wild card berths.
See you in January.
Contact Robby at [email protected]

Winter. That magical season of spiced eggnog, crowded shopping malls and slightly strained family reunions.
Winter beckons with friendly familiarity-kind of like the smell of warm cinnamon rolls in the morning. But amid friends, family, and holiday cheer, the need often arises for some kind of outlet or release valve. That is where sports come into play.
If sports can be loosely classified as organized physical activities following a basic set of rules, everyone is a bit more athletic than they realize. I find that many of those repetitive winter-time acts that people do evoke certain feelings, even if we cannot describe them.
In my house growing up, Christmas tree hunting often turned into a spectacle resembling the Iditarod and cross-country ski expeditions became epic tests of willpower. Every family enacts its own strange customs for its own crazy reasons.
Winter sports in Montana run deep, and at times freeze deep as well. Spinning cookies in empty parking lots and making mad dashes to and from the warm sanctuary of the hot tub exemplify, I think, all of the passion and drama that makes sports great.
My humble theory is that winter predicates these types of behavior more than any other season because it brings people into close proximity, and, well, we need something to keep us occupied and you can only see Harry Potter so many times.
Think about it. Remember your freshman floor and all the extremely creative games that could only be invented at 3 a.m.? Or those video game marathons that left you with weary eyes and visions of faraway worlds? They probably occurred with the most frequency around this time of year.
Of course to appreciate sporting events one must also be a talented spectator, and winter gives ample opportunities to live vicariously through others and practice up on our La-Z-Boy quarterback skills.
Watching the Insight.com Bowl, for instance, gives us that crucial piece of knowledge that Syracuse’s backup tight end is actually a home economics major, with four older siblings, and a pet python named Bubbles. And what would December be without Dick Vitale and the specter of sleep-deprived undergrads exhorting the home team to jump a little higher, run a little faster, hit that big shot?
But let’s focus on the active parts of winter: doing some last-minute shopping, decorating the house, and more. Through it all, sporting instincts are at their peak. Not necessarily through fierce competition (although that is often the case), winter sports bring people together to laugh, remember, and make fools of ourselves.
I remember sneaking onto the local ice skating rink late at night with friends, doing our best Wayne Gretzky imitations and checking to make sure that the beer didn’t freeze. It may have looked funny, yet we felt free, like we were sharing something that the rest of the world was missing out on.
The public spectacle of sports in all their varied forms helps us to relate to one another and build something that exemplifies and embodies our very lives. I don’t know-maybe I have been reading too much from my anthropology textbooks recently-but sports possess the very same ritual and ceremonial structure as many religious celebrations.
As Robert Pirsig wrote in his book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, “When one has this feeling of identification with what one’s doing then he also sees the inverse side of caring, Quality itself.”
Winter, like all sports, has a prescribed form in our minds. But the beauty of it all is that no two versions end up exactly alike. The intersecting and overlapping ideas of what is a sport, what is an art, and what is just a pain in the ass, reflect the fact that it is all in how you view it. Maybe you call it grocery shopping, but I call it the Schnucks 500 with a shiny iron cart.
Under that big “Sports” masthead of Student Life, football, volleyball and basketball get the
most coverage, but I see all of you out there with your idiosyncratic pastimes. And I say that they are sports.
So go home, eat those family feasts with gusto, and be an athlete in the true sense of the word.

Contact Dan at [email protected]

The tenth-ranked Washington University men’s basketball team improved to 6-1 this weekend, defeating Coe College 100-80 Friday and dominating Wisconsin Lutheran College 97-66 Saturday.
The WU starters, all five of which are juniors and captains, controlled the contest. Center Jarriot Rook blocked four shots to break a WU all-time career record. Rook’s 154 blocks surpassed the record 152 set by that Fred Amos in 1985. He posted 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals as well.
In addition to six rebounds and three blocks, guard Dustin Tylka dropped seven threes and tallied a game-high 27 points. Chris Jeffries contributed 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Matt Tabash, at point, had nine assists and three steals.
Within three seconds of the beginning of the Coe game, Rook passed to Joel Parrott, who sank a three and ignited WU’s early 9-2 lead. Rook, who only shot from behind the arc once last season, nailed a three of his own later in the half. Tylka hit one with 1:28 on the clock to put the Bears up by 21, the widest lead of the half. However, the story of the half was WU’s inside game.
“Our coaches did a good job scouting them,” said Jeffries. “Everything [Coe] did we saw coming. We knew that initially they weren’t going to pressure me in the post.”
Therefore, Jeffries dominated the paint as power forward, putting up three jumpers and six layups.
As the Bears lead 47-31 at half, Rook heard his record revealed. He was aware he was nearing the record but had not realized just how close he was.
“When they announced it at half time I was surprised because I didn’t know for sure,” said Rook. “But we were warming up for the second half, and right when they announced it I shot an air ball.”
Jeffries opened the second half with a jumper and dunked off a pass from Tabash. However, the Bears’ offensive attack soon shifted to the outside.
“I had a great inside game in the first half,” said Jeffries. “Then, they started coming to me more aggressively. And, if Tylka, Tabash or Barry [Bryant] have the open three, they’re going to take it. I expect them to, and that was the case. With all of their guys trying to come and pressure me, it was easy for me to kick it out to them for the open jump shot.”
Tylka scored 17 points during 15 minutes in the final half. He drove in a layup and connected on 5 of 8 threes. Tabash and Parrot added a pair of threes and Rook also hit his second one.
Coe looked to answer through more aggressive offense. With 6:39 remaining, guard Josh Stanek brought the game as close as 81-69 by sinking one of Coe’s six threes in the half.
The Kohawks improved from 34.4 to 51.4 percent field goal shooting in the second half. However, WU shot a solid 55.9 percent to keep Coe in check. With 19 points Stanek led Coe, now 2-4.
Saturday night, Wisconsin Lutheran hit only 30.9 percent from the field, as WU dominated the game. WLC guard Kevin Christensen led everyone in scoring with 23 points, but WU shot 63.2 percent from the floor, as five players finished in double figures and the bench tallied 44 points.
Bryant, a sophomore, came in for 14 minutes to lead the Bears with a career-high 16 points. Rook, with 13 points, and Jeffries, with 12, also pulled down 10 rebounds apiece for double-doubles. Parrott scored 12, and Tylka scored 11 points.
The Bears began as they had ended Friday, with Tabash setting Jeffries up with the dunk and the guards knocking down threes. WU took off on a 27-5 run, reversing the Warrior’s early 3-2 lead. The home team marked a 27-point margin until Christensen’s three at the buzzer closed the half 51-27. The Warriors could never close the gap in the second half.
Head coach Mark Edwards said after the game, “Our defense really bothered, took them out of their offense, and eventually dominated their game. We countered what they did very quickly and put them in such a hole they didn’t have a chance.”
Junior Nick Guerts then passed to junior Michael Kriss for a layup and pushed the lead to 36, before winning by 31.
Edwards noted the Bear’s significant advantage in height and strength. However, Jeffries said, “I don’t think we really used that too much. Pretty much we just ran them. We got the ball out quick because we knew all five of them could not go with all five of us.” The Bears outscored the Warriors 6-14 on fast breaks, and Tabash kept the offense moving.
“Each player helped us win this game, but the point guard leadership this weekend was outstanding. Matt Tabash ran the show. He got the people where he wanted them, he took the ball into the press, made it to the paint, and cut the trapping. He was a major factor in how this team came together,” said Edwards.
Tabash collected four steals and created six shots Saturday, and had 12 points for the weekend.
“I think we need to use these two games, just like we used the loss [to Hanover, Sunday, Nov. 25] to get ready for the next game,” said Edwards.
His team will take on Webster University tonight in St. Louis, and then play at home again next Saturday, Dec. 8.
“Our next home game is against our archrival, Illinois Wesleyan, who we have not beaten in ten years. I’d really like to see the students come out and support us for that game,” said Edwards.
Contact Renee at [email protected]

The top-ranked Washington University women’s basketball team avenged last year’s loss to Fontbonne with a 95-65 drubbing of the Griffins in the WU Field House on Friday night.
The 30-point victory was led by senior Robin Lahargoue, who had a team-high 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds. After falling behind early in the game 7-2, the Bears rode the hot hand of junior Laura Crowley, who hit three consecutive three-pointers to spark a 31-7 Bears run. As sophomore Suzy Digby made two free throws as the half closed, the Bears extended their lead to 49-24.
Fontbonne, who beat the Bears last year to halt their consecutive win streak at 81 games, found themselves at the mercy of a bitter Bears team.
“Coach [Nancy Fahey] told us it was just another game, just as important as any other, but we were obviously still a little bitter about last year,” said Lahargoue. “We used that as fuel.”
Well the Bears had plenty of gas left in their tank as they capitalized on a 17-0 run in the second half to pull away. To break the game open in the second half, the Bears dominated the boards and shot the ball effectively. The defense held the Griffins to just 33 precent shooting from the floor, while the offense shot just under 50 percent. High-percentage shooting combined with a rebounding edge of 54-31 will almost always lead to lopsided victories.
A total of 12 Bears scored in the rout, including 12 points from Crowley, who went 3-5 from behind the arc. Suzy Digby was a spark off the bench as she chipped in 17 points and six rebounds. Kristi Eller also came off the bench to lead the Bears in assists with six. Starter Meg Sullivan also contributed eight points.
The only highlight on the Griffins side was senior Amy Hauschild. Hauschild led the Griffins with 31 points on 9-19 shooting. She also had eight rebounds.
The win on Friday night moves the Bears to 5-0, and no game has been closer than eight points.
“It’s nice to start clicking early in the season, but there is always room for improvement and we expect to be even better in the second semester,” said Lahargoue.
The Bears, who have won four straight national championships, seem poised for yet another run. Lahargoue said, “We don’t like to compare this year’s team to last year’s team, but we are really confident right now. It’s also hard to evaluate the rest of the field this early in the season, but we feel confident.”
To prevent overconfidence, the Bears will continue to work hard in practice, because that is where the toughest competition has come from this year. Out of their five wins this season, four have come by at least 15 points. Therefore, it is important that the Bears stay competitive in practice.
“Our toughest competition is when we play against each other in practice,” says Lahargoue. “Coach keeps us humble by instilling a humble philosophy into our system.”
It is early, but already the Bears are showing that they have not missed a beat since winning their fourth straight national championship. But before we skip three months to the 2002 national championship, let’s first see if someone can play them close.

contact Matt at [email protected]