Dan DaranciangIt’s been a wild spring season for Washington University Athletics and it is drawing to a close. Some teams have already finished their regular seasons and are now gearing up for making a showing in the postseason, while other teams are looking to finish out their seasons strong. While the softball team has stolen much of the spotlight with their number one ranking in the nation and stellar play, all the WU athletic teams have shown great athleticism, professionalism and determination on the field of battle all season long. Each team has worked hard all year long for their accomplishments and has something to be very proud of. Here’s a recap of each team’s season:
Softball (45-1):
What can be said about the women’s softball team’s sheer brilliance on the softball diamond this season? Their play has been nothing short of phenomenal and their pure domination against all opponents (save one) has been second to none. The squad finished out their regular season with a pair of shutout victories against the University of Chicago on Saturday, April 30, as the team’s top two pitchers, sophomore Laurel Sagartz (22-1) and senior Victoria Ramsey (15-0), pitched a double helping of gems on the mound. Improving their final season record to 45-1, Sagartz stuck out nine batters while walking none in a 1-0 victory in game one against Chicago, while Ramsey gave up four hits and struck out seven in game two as she posted the squad’s 24th shutout of the season, which is the fourth most in Division III history for one season. Last season the Bears tallied up 22 shutouts as well.
The team has inundated itself with a number of records this season and hopes to gain a couple more as the playoffs begin and the wins keep tallying up. Ramsey became the Bears’ all-time wins leader after notching her 43rd career victory in April, while it seems that nothing can stop the Lady Bears in the pursuit of excellence. After easily winning the UAA Championships and winning their first six games of the season, it was easy to see something was special with this team. The first and only loss came against Augustana College on March 20 in a close 4-5 loss due to three errors by the Bears. Since then, the Bears have not lost a game and have set a WU-record 28-game win streak, which is also the 10th longest winning streak in Division III history. The 45 wins also move the Bears into 10th place on the all-time single-season wins list in Division III history. The squad is now just three wins shy of the D-III record of 48, set by the College of New Jersey.
On the team’s success, Sagartz credits it to their hard work and dedication all season long.
“We’ve been working hard since the first week of school and all the success we’ve achieved have been the product of all of that work, time and dedication we’ve put into this season,” said Sagartz. “When we get into the last inning, we have complete confidence in every player on the team, regardless of who it is, and their ability to get it done. We will take that confidence in what we hope will be the National Championship.”
Freshman Amy Vulkovich is leading the Bears in batting with a staggering .451 batting average, while starting in 45 of 46 games this season. Senior slugger and co-captain Liz Swary leads the team in a number of offensive categories, including runs (44), hits (66), doubles (20), RBI (53), total bases (115) and slugging percentage (.762). Junior Amanda Roberts leads the team in steals, with 17 successful attempts out of 18 on the season. She is also hitting .384 on the season. Sophomore Jamie Kressel has shown her power this season with her team-leading 11 homeruns and .717 slugging percentage. On the mound, Ramsey and Sagartz have provided 37 of the squad’s 45 victories on the season. Sagartz is 22-1 on the season, pitching 15 complete games, nine shutouts, striking out an unbelievable 168 batters and posting a 0.69 ERA. Opponents are hitting a measly .124 on her. Ramsey, 15-0, beats Sagartz out in ERA, posting a 0.49 and whiffing 84 batters on the season.
Baseball (28-7, 5-1 UAA):
With three games remaining in the regular season, the Bears are just two wins shy of tying their all-time wins mark of 30. The squad is red hot as of late, winning their last 11 of 14 games in stylish fashion. Over spring break from March 11-15, the team traveled to Sanford, Fla., for the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships. There, the team took home first place, winning five of six games against their UAA rivals and making a name for themselves, starting a trend where the team won 24 of 29 games. The most recent demolition of an unsuspecting opponent came on the hells of a 16-0 shutout against Eureka College, where the offensive production by the Bears shelled out 21 hits and 15 RBI on a day where the combined team batting average was .390.
The game against Eureka is representative of much of the play the squadron has demonstrated all season long. Offense and pitching have combined to edge past close games for the win while also completely crushing other opponents like Eureka. At the plate, junior third baseman Sam Hahn continues to have an excellent season; he is batting a team-best .409 batting average and 12 doubles while contributing 23 RBI on the Bear effort. The real centerpiece of the Bears’ offense is senior Dan Rieck, who joined the team this year after transferring from Simpson College and is leading the team in nearly all offensive categories. His 10 HR, 43 RBI, 87 total bases and .744 slugging percentage are all tops for the team. Rieck is hitting .368 on the season. On the mound, Brent Buffa boasts the team’s best record with a 9-1 offering, 1.52 ERA, and 44 strikeouts.
Sophomore pitcher Dan McPheeters (6-2) cites this current team as one of the best he’s ever played on.
“These guys are amazing. We go into every game and we know what we can do. It’s a great group of guys and I am so proud to be part of such a team,” said McPheeters.
Track and Field:
The Red and Green has run their way to success this season as the squad has placed very high and won a number of meets. Highlights from the season include first place finishes by both the men and women at the UAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships on Feb. 25-26 and April 23-24, respectively. At the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships from March 11-12, the women’s squad placed ninth in the nation out of a field of 60 teams, which is quite a feat. Most recently, the women’s 4×400-meter relay squad recorded the fastest time in NCAA Division III history during the outdoor season at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Competing against the some of the best Division I athletes, the relay squad of freshman Danielle Wadlington, sophomore Natalie Badowski, junior Laura Ehret and junior Michelle McCully clocked a Division III record time of 3:50.03 in 4×400 relay, eclipsing the previous record by nearly two seconds.
A number of standout performers have given the squad that extra something that has rocketed them to a very successful season. Senior captain Maggie Grabow has had an unbelievable season, being honored with the UAA Outdoor Athlete of the Year, leading the Bears to victory on a number of occasions. She was helped by her fellow men’s and women’s teammates, including sophomore Aaron Mangold and juniors Brennan Bonner, Drew Martin and Dave Skiba on the men’s side, and freshmen Morgen Leonard-Fleckman, Danielle Wadlington, sophomores Natalie Badowski, Lindsay Harkema, and Delaina Martin, junior Laura Ehret and senior Hallie Hutchens.
Grabow, who will be running for the Division I University of Madison-Wisconsin next year as a graduate student in environmental studies, welled up with emotion as she stated, “I am so proud of this team I really can’t describe it.”
A number of athletes have qualified will be representing the University at the NCAA Championshps, held at Wartburg College from May 26-28.
Tennis:
Both the men’s (14-5) and women’s (9-8) squads have had decent seasons thus far. The big news on the men’s side has come from the promising play of freshman Charlie Howard, who boasts the team’s best record in singles’ play with a 24-4 mark. Junior Ari Rosenthal is close behind him, though, with a 20-6 season record. In doubles’ play, the duo of juniors Eric Borden and Zack Fayne has tallied up 14 wins to their five losses for a team best doubles record. The women were led by a group of departing seniors that contributed much to the Bears team over the past four years. Seniors Kacie Cook (13-11) and Erica Greenberg (18-5), with the help of sophomore Erin Flemming, who is second on the team with a 15-8 singles record, the Bears have been able to capitalize on opportunities to win all season long. Earlier this season, Cook became the 14th WU athlete to reach the 100-win mark for their collegiate career for WU women’s tennis; she has a combined singles and doubles record of 120-74 (.619).
As a show of good faith for all their accomplishments this season, nine University tennis players, six female and three male, were named to the All-UAA team. Cook became the first WU singles tennis player to be selected to the team since 2002. On the men’s side, junior William McMahan earned second-team honors in singles play while going 13-7 on the season. The Borden/Fayne doubles partnership was recognized with second-team honors at No. 3 doubles. Both men’s and women’s squads are eagerly anticipating the selections for the NCAA Championships, which will begin on May 7.