Student Life Archives

Scott Bressler

Washington University’s track and field teams had another highly successful meet this weekend. Following its first-place finish at last weekend’s UAA championships, the women’s team finished fourth out of 20 at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Twilight Open.

The men finished 10th out of 16 at the same meet, which featured teams from all three NCAA divisions.

“It gives you a chance to get the experience of actually competing, being one of the few Division III teams and actually hanging in there,” junior Danielle Wadlington said.

“It’s hard to get into the fast heat, but if you can, it is easier to qualify for the NCAAs,” junior Alli Alberts added.

Senior Morgen Leonard-Fleckman provided one of the highlights of the day, winning the pole vault with a leap of 3.75 meters, breaking a school record and provisionally qualifying for the NCAA outdoor championships.

Wadlington also broke a school record Saturday, running the 400-meter hurdles in 1:02.52 to eclipse Hallie Hutchens’ 5-year-old school mark of 1:02.75. This time also provisionally qualified Wadlington for the NCAA championship meet and was just 0.52 seconds away from automatically qualifying.

Two other Bears also won races Saturday. Senior Abbey Hartmann won the 1,500-meter run. Freshman Taryn Surtees and senior Tricia Frisella finished second and fourth in the same race.

Senior Angela Hartman won the 800-meter run in 2:15.71, just missing the NCAA provisional standard. Senior Lisa Sudmeier and freshman Kelli Blake finished seventh and eighth in the same event.

“There were a lot of really strong performances up front, which gave us a lot of competition,” Sudmeier said.

Alberts also had a big day, finishing fourth in the javelin throw and sixth in the high jump. Classmate Jessica Lane was the only other Bear to place in the field, finishing seventh in the pole vault.

On the track, senior Tyler Mulkin finished fourth in the 5,000-meter run and the 4×400-meter relay team also finished fourth.

Even with the solid competition, this meet was not one of the most important ones of the season. “It was kind of like a work-out meet,” Alberts said. “The only ones that matter if we win are conference and the NCAAs. Here it is all about time.”

The men’s team also had a solid meet. Sophomore Keith England had the team’s highest finish of the day, taking third in the javelin throw. Freshman Ben Harmon was the only other Bear to score on the field, taking eighth in the pole vault.

Sophomore Tanner Coghill took fourth in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4×100-meter relay team took fifth in their race.

Freshman Chris Brennan took seventh in the 800-meter race while classmate Skyler Moots took eighth in the same race. Seniors Michael Nasuta and Doug Beattie took eighth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 100-meter dash, respectively. Freshman Peter Bush took eighth in the 5,000-meter run.

The Red and Green will return to action next Saturday. They will race at the Butler Invitational in Indianapolis, where more great performances can be expected.

“We are looking to better our marks and qualify more people for nationals,” Sudmeier said.

“Our training is designed to end in May,” Wadlington added. “We don’t train for conference, we train for nationals.”

Doovy Han

“Getting back in the groove” was freshman Claire Voris’ response to the past four games after a 15-day layoff.

When the team last saw action on April 9, Washington University churned out 13 unanswered runs against Westminster College.

It was a different team two weeks later. On April 24, the Bears lost 3-0 and then fell 5-3 in a tough doubleheader with Division II University of Missouri-St. Louis. With Wash. U. down 3-1 after three innings, the Bears mounted a comeback to tie the score, but the UMSL relief pitcher prevented the team from converting a bases-loaded opportunity. “We have our ups and our downs,” senior Kaylyn Eash said.

Their funk deepened on Saturday morning with a 2-1 loss to Maryville University. The Red and Green loaded the bases in three different innings but could not convert. Sophomore Carter Malouf had three hits and scored the lone run. “She’s tiny, but she packs a lot of power,” Voris said.

The losses gave the Bears plenty to reflect on. “We’re not being aggressive at the plate,” shortstop senior Laura D’Andrea said. “It’s given us an idea of what we need to do.”

Saturday’s afternoon game against Webster started well, as sophomore Megan Fieser took advantage of a misfielded ball to score the first run. Defensively, D’Andrea made a diving leap, catching a hard-hit liner to second to end the first. The lead was extended to three with RBI singles by Malouf and sophomore Ashton Hitchcock in the third.

But the Gorloks erased the Wash. U. lead with a grand slam followed by an RBI single in the third.

The situation seemed dire as senior Kaylyn Eash took to the mound in relief to end the inning. “When she’s out there, we know it’ll be alright,” Malouf said.

Eash took time to get adjusted as the lead grew to 8-3 in the fourth with the Bears committing three errors.

Despite trailing, Wash. U. mounted a comeback. Sophomore Caitlyn Hoffman struck first with an RBI single. With the bases loaded, Eash hit a grand slam off the first pitch to jump start the offensive machine. The ball sailed over the right field fence.

The Bears were back with an eight run fifth inning. Junior Lindsay Cavarra drove in two more with a double down the middle before Malouf hit an RBI double. “We really showed what we can do,” Eash said.

Wash. U. kept rolling as Eash, who recorded the win, had a two run blast in the sixth followed by D’Andrea, who scored on an error. The Bears took advantage of the six Webster errors.

The Red and Green capped the game with back-to-back jacks by Eash and Hoffman in the seventh. Webster threatened once more with a runner on third in the bottom of the seventh, but D’Andrea caught the fly ball to end the game.

Though Eash’s school record tying three homers propelled the team, several players noted that everyone has played the hero this season. “It’s different every week,” D’Andrea said.

“That last game was a start of something new,” Voris said. The Bears host two doubleheaders against Greenville College on Tuesday at 4 p.m. before facing No. 1 DePauw College on Saturday at noon.

Junior Lindsay Cavarra celebrated her 21st birthday in style, hitting an RBI double that ended number one DePauw University’s 37 game winning streak.

The catcher was the only Bear to have RBIs against DePauw as her fourth inning double to right field scored sophomore Ally Berenter.

“I’m glad that we stepped up,” Cavarra said after Washington University snapped a three game skid.

The Bears pulled off the 1-0 upset in the second frame of the doubleheader, backed by ace hurler freshman Claire Voris’ performance on the mound and some solid defense. “Everybody had a moment,” Voris said.

Voris held the vaunted Tigers to only two hits in the win despite pitching eight innings in the first frame.

Sophomore Carter Malouf was on fire defensively, catching balls belted at her face or diving to catch a low flying liner.

Both Malouf and Voris played key roles in the top of the seventh. The feeling of déj… vu arose again as Wash. U. had entered the seventh with a one run lead only to ultimately lose the game.

But Wash. U. prevailed as Malouf essentially fell on top of the ball to record the first out. Voris fielded a hard hit grounder to record the second out. The pressure was on as Voris walked the third batter.

Voris unfurled her pitch and the DePauw batter connected, sending the grounder down the third baseline. Voris ducked allowing Malouf to gun the ball to first baseman senior Kaylyn Eash to end the game and finish the regular season.

According to senior Karli Stander, the Bears were number one in the country in her freshman year. This year, they defeated the number one team in the country.

“We knew we could beat this team,” Stander said. “It felt great to end the season with a bang.”

Wash. U. 1 DePauw 4

The Red and Green came close to winning the first game, holding DePauw scoreless for six innings.

Wash. U. was the first on the scoreboard as Cavarra sent a high flying pop up that somehow found a way onto the ground between the Tiger’s pitcher, shortstop and third baseman. While the defenders looked up, sophomore Ashton Hitchcock tore through the bases to score in the bottom of the sixth.

Center fielder senior Amy Vukovich caught several hard hit balls deep into center field including one that nearly cleared the fence in the seventh.

DePauw rallied in the top of the seventh with two outs and a full count, using an RBI single to score the tying run. With runners in scoring position, shortstop senior Laura D’Andrea fielded the liner and tossed it to second baseman Kerry Kreitman to send the game into extra innings.

The Bears could have ended the game but were unable to score despite loading the bases.

The Tigers built a lead with a three RBI double in the eighth. Right fielder senior Karli Stander, threw out the batter at first, beating the runner by a hair to end the eighth.

According to Stander, she had not done that all year. “It was awesome,” Stander said. “Everyone was cheering.”

The Red and Green had one last opportunity to come back and tie the game. Despite their best efforts, DePauw’s defense came alive preventing the Bears from scoring with runners on second and third. DePauw’s win extended their streak to 37 before Wash. U. snapped it in the second game.

Wash .U. ended the regular season with a 24-13 record. The number fourteenth team in the country awaits news of its postseason fate.

Bears battle back from 8-3 deficit to win 16-8 against Webster University.

Doovy Han

Washington University men’s tennis, ranked second in the nation, cruised to the UAA title match only to fall to seventh-ranked Emory University 2-6 in the championship match. The team ends the season at 16-4 while Emory is now 15-6. Emory recorded its 29th consecutive title, last falling to Brandeis University in 1989.

“I thought we fought hard all weekend long. There was maybe a bit of a let-down in doubles today versus Emory. We were broken in all first service games, and we never fully recovered from that at number two and three doubles,” Head Coach Roger Follmer said.

The Bears began the tournament Friday against the eight seed University of Rochester and did not lose a set. Doubles play concluded with 8-0 shutouts at second and third doubles by junior Trevis Bowman and sophomore John Watts at second doubles and the freshman tandem of Isaac Stein and Max Woods at third doubles.

Junior Charlie Cutler and Chris Hoeland won at first doubles 8-5. The pair is ranked third in Division III.

Watts, sophomore Danny Levy, Woods, Hoeland, Stein, and sophomore Corey Yealy all cruised to straight set singles wins to end the match.

The Saturday semifinal match put Wash. U. against No. 21 University of Chicago, a match that the Bears won 5-0. Cutler/Hoeland, Watts/Bowman and Stein/Woods won 8-4, 8-2 and 8-0, respectively, to give Wash. U. an early lead. Wins by Cutler and Woods at second and fourth singles clinched the match and ended play for the day.

In the other semifinal, Emory dispatched No. 16 Carnegie Mellon University 5-0.

In the championship match, Levy and Hoeland earned the only victories for the Red and Green, winning at third and fifth singles 6-3, 6-3 and 6-3, 6-2, respectively.

Watts, ranked the best player in Division III, forced a third set after winning a second set tiebreaker but lost the final set by one service break.

Cutler and Woods also forced third sets, with Woods losing the third 5-7 and Culter losing 2-6.

In doubles, Cutler and Hoeland lost 9-7 in the only close doubles match.

“[Emory] will be a contender again no doubt for a national title next month, being a runner-up or champion each of the past five years. We too can play at such a standard to be in the hunt with further work and support,” Follmer said.

The NCAA Division III men’s tennis championship is set to begin on May 2 with early round play. Wash. U. will learn its location and first round opponent Monday night.

Scott Bressler

Washington University baseball concluded UAA play this weekend with three resounding victories and one close loss against the University of Chicago and host Case Western Reserve University. The team is now 14-11 (6-4 UAA).

The Bears opened both Saturday and Sunday with games against the Maroons, who were not at the University Athletic Association Championship over spring break. Junior ace Brian Williams improved to 4-6 after another complete game, as he surrendered one run on five hits. Williams struck out five and did not allow a walk.

Wash. U. scored one in the first, one in the fifth, four in the seventh and one in the eighth in the 7-1 victory. Juniors Gregg Kennedy and Zander Lehmann each got one hit and knocked in two runs, while freshman Matt Skinner went 3-4 with two runs scored. Skinner was knocked in both times by junior Andy Webb, who also went 3-4 and scored a run.

The Red and Green recorded their second win against the Spartans this season later Saturday afternoon behind a dominating performance by sophomore Jeremy Rogoff. Rogoff pitched six shutout innings while scattering four hits and four walks; he struck out fourteen. He improved to 3-2 on the season.

The offense also exploded for 12 runs, and with the score 12-1 after seven innings, the game was called due to the mercy rule. The Bears scored three runs or fewer each inning but scored in all but the third inning.

Freshman Matt Bayer led the team with four RBIs and two runs scored, and he went 3-5 with a two-run home run, his second this season. Skinner also went 2-4 with four RBIs. Junior Scott Kennedy and senior Dave Working also recorded multi-hit games.

Webb improved to 2-0 on the season after he pitched a complete game on Sunday against the Maroons. Webb surrendered two runs on five hits and struck out eight in the 8-2 win.

The offense struck early with four runs in the first off of Chicago’s Alex Gallan. Gallan then settled down until the fourth, when he surrendered two more runs; Wash. U. also scored two in the sixth.

Working, Gregg Kennedy and Lehmann scored six of eight runs and recorded nine of 13 hits in the top three slots in the batting order. All three recorded three hits, and Kennedy plated three while Lehmann plated two.

The Bears lost their weekend finale on Sunday to the Spartans 8-7. Four pitchers were needed to piece together eight innings.

Wash. U. scored the first runs of the game in the third, plating two on sacrifice flies by Gregg Kennedy and Lehmann, which scored Webb and Working.

The lead stretched to 4-0 the next inning on a double by sophomore Remy Midkiff and a few walks and Spartan errors.

Case took the lead in the bottom of the frame, scoring five times on just three hits and three walks. The Red and Green would tie and then retake the lead after runs in the sixth and seventh. Sophomore Nick Vom Brack hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Scott Kennedy singled in Lehmann in the seventh.

Case rallied with another big inning, plating three runs on three hits and two walks, all with two outs. Each hit was also a single.

Vom Brack answered with his second home run of the year, but the Bears could not score the equalizer off of Case’s Kale Aron.

The season comes to an end this weekend with games Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Wash. U. travels to Maryville University on Thursday before ending the season at home with a doubleheader against California State East Bay on Friday at noon and a 3 p.m. contest with Greenville College on Saturday.

Members of the baseball team could not be reached for comment because they were in transit at press time.

Scott Bressler

The Washington University men’s tennis team is ready and prepped to begin its second season.

The nationally-ranked No. 2 Bears concluded regular season play on Wednesday with a 7-2 victory over McKendree University and now sets its sights on this weekend’s University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships. The team took five of six singles matches and two of three doubles matches as junior Chris Hoeland captured his 100th and 101st victories of his career. The team ends regular season play with an overall record of 14-3 and an eight match winning streak.

Hoeland was paired with junior Charlie Cutler for their 8-3 victory at first doubles, and then posted his own 6-1, 6-3 at second singles. Juniors Nirmal Choradia, Mark Partridge and Eric Pollak also posted straight set victories in their singles matches, and Cutler rallied from a set down to take the first singles match by a score of 4-6, 6-4, 10-5. Cutler is the 18th-ranked singles player in Division III tennis.

“We had all juniors for the singles matches,” Hoeland said. “It wasn’t something we thought about during it, but looking back, it was kind of fun. We’ve never done anything like that before. I guess it was kind of a special day.”

On Tuesday, the team hosted its annual Red Alert match and defeated Lindenwood University 9-0 in front of a large gathering of fans.

“It was a perfect day, and the turnout was great. The fans were cheering so [loudly]. It was a lot of noise. That kind of support, it makes it fun for the players. We all had a good time playing in front of them,” sophomore Slavi Fildish said.

The attendance may or may not have been a factor in the team’s decisive victory, but the Bears extended their shutout streak to four matches.

Next up for the team will be the UAA Championships, which will take place this weekend at Emory University.

The Bears were awarded the top seed for the tournament and are looking to avenge their defeat in last year’s championship match, suffered at the hands of Emory University. Emory has been a thorn in the team’s side for some time, but the players are well aware of the looming challenge if the teams were to meet again in the finals.

“We’re not stressing about it,” Hoeland said. “We know how to play them [Emory]. We’ve already beaten them this year, but it’s still going to be very tough. They’re all very good, and they’ve got some new players, but we’re definitely expecting a win.”

The tournament features four nationally-ranked teams, with Wash. U., Emory, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Chicago ranked second, seventh, 16th, and 21st in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.

The Bears will square off against the eight seed, University of Rochester (N.Y.) on Friday morning. If they win, they play again on Saturday, with the championship match slated for Sunday.

Chris Hoeland

Men’s Tennis

The junior recorded wins number 100 and 101 Wednesday against McKendree University in first doubles and second singles, and he and teammateCharlie Cutler are the third-ranked doubles team in Division III men’s tennis. Cutler ends regular season play with a combined singles and doubles record of 31-12.

Elise Sambol

Women’s Tennis

The freshman was the only Wash. U. player to win all three of her singles matches at the UAA Championships. She is currently 25-3, 19-1 in singles competition. The women took third in the tournament behind champion Emory University and runner-up Carnegie Mellon University.

Danielle Wadlington

Women’s Track

The junior won the UAA title in the triple jump and 100-meter hurdles and recorded second and third place finishes in the 200- and 100-meter dashes, respectively. She automatically qualified for nationals in the triple jump and provisionally qualified in the 100-meter hurdles. The women won the meet while the men took fourth.

Zander Lehmann

Baseball

Last Wednesday, the junior went 3-5 with five RBIs in a 12-4 win against Westminster College. His biggest hit came in the fourth inning, as he hit a three-run home run with one out in the inning. Lehmann also recorded a triple in the game. Lehmann is hitting .333 and leads the team with 20 RBIs.

Courtesy of Ryan Whelpley

Washington University Crew still has two more regattas before the season ends, but both the men’s and women’s teams have raced successfully over the 2007-2008 school year.

On March 30, the team traveled to Butler, Pa. for the 2008 University Rowing Association (URA) Championship Regatta, hosted by Carnegie Mellon University. Wash. U. and the University of Rochester finished first and second in both the male and female competition, with the Bears winning the men’s competition and the Yellowjackets winning the women’s regatta. The second-place finish snapped the women’s two-year winning streak while the men pushed their streak to three years.

“The past two years, we dominated most events and came in first place as a team, but this year has been tough because of a loss in the number of rowers and increase in rowers with injuries,” Cally Donahue, a senior and co-captain, said about the women’s team.

“URAs are a unique event for us because we race against other teams from the UAA conference. This gives us the best perspective on our performance measured against schools of our caliber. The other schools that compete in the URAs are all club teams in which the athletes manage similar, academically-rigorous programs. Our performance at URAs this year demonstrate our abilities as a team, winning, I believe, four gold medals and three cups, including the overall points trophy,” Ryan Whelpley, a senior and co-captain, said.

This past weekend, the team competed in the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship Regatta against 28 other teams, 17 of which were also club teams. The men won two gold medals in the Men’s Lightweight Four and Men’s Novice Lightweight Four events.

“Our team has surpassed all expectations and goals I had set for the men’s team at the start of the year. The vast majority of athletes scored personal records this winter on rowing machines. Winning URAs for the third year in a row accomplished a large goal, and winning two gold medals at SIRAs this year is unprecedented. Additionally to this point, the men’s team has won five different cups, something that has never been done in my time here,” Whelpley added.

The women reached one final, capturing fifth in the Varsity Eight.

“We have overcome a lot of difficulties and injuries… We are performing very well against our competition. We have a strong team this year that works very hard and has been very successful,” senior co-captain Ashley Lozito said.

Overall, Purdue University captured the most points in the regatta, followed by Jacksonville Tech and Georgia Tech.

Crew returns to action May 11 at the Dad Vails Regatta in Philadelphia, Pa., a regatta for which many athletes are practicing twice a day, according to Whelpley. Whelpley expects the team to compete with the rest of the field but does not expect to medal at Dad Vails, noting that the team cannot and should not be able to contend with powerhouses like Purdue. These larger teams can compete in many more events since each rower is only allowed to participate in one event.

Whelpley added, “Even though we do not have the amount of numbers, we still can compete on the same level.”

Following Dad Vails, the team will finish the season at the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships in Oklahoma City on May 24 and 25.

After weeks of scrambling for funding, Washington University’s coed club tennis team obtained the necessary money to attend the Club Tennis National Championships in Caary, N.C. this past weekend. Nationwide, only 64 teams were awarded offers to attend the tournament, and Wash. U. placed 47th over the weekend.

Although the team did not place in the top three at sectionals to guarantee them a spot at nationals, they earned a bid to nationals based on their standings and history of attendance at nationals. The team last went to nationals in 2006, and their undefeated record in the region helped their admittance to nationals.

This year, Wash. U. was named the number one wild card seed, “which is a really big deal, especially since we aren’t from a Division I school,” Chelsea Roberts, a sophomore and the team’s treasurer, said.

The team was accepted to nationals before Wash. U.’s Sport Club Federation’s (SCF) nationals appeals were due, and the officers had to make a decision before the team knew if it would receive the funding. Roberts described that over the course of several weeks, there was “lots of back and forth between SCF and the team between whether or not we’d get the money.”

Due to SCF budget shortages, other club teams donated their unused funds so other teams could go to nationals.

“Getting the money solved all our problems, but we didn’t get it until a week before we went,” Roberts said.

With the stress of budgeting concerns behind them, the team chose eight members by balancing “commitment to the team, seniority and skill level,” Brian Blosser, senior and club president, explained.

Although the team has struggled with low participation from girls in the past, Roberts added that this year the team “finally has a group of consistent girls that exceeds the minimum amount needed to be competitive.”

One of the unique aspects of the tournament was its atmosphere, which was both very competitive and friendly. Since there were “tons of college students wandering around 30 courts, it wasn’t uncommon that the team you were playing you’d befriend by the end of the tournament,” Roberts said.

The team met a Harvard graduate student who had played club tennis for Wash. U., and “he watched our matches, and we watched Harvard’s… So even teams playing one another were very friendly and supportive,” Blosser said.

The team’s first priority was its members, and all eight people on the trip played over the weekend.

“The team ended up deciding to continue to play everybody for team unity and to make sure everyone got to play as much as possible,” Blosser stated.

“Even though we wanted to be competitive, our biggest goal was for everyone to have fun,” Roberts added.

Although the Wash. U. team was happy with its level of play at the tournament, they were up against mostly Division I teams, and “probably three-fourths [of the teams] were from huge state schools,” Roberts said.

Wash. U. played seven teams in total, and although they won two of the matches, their record didn’t capture many of what Blosser described as individual “bright points” of the tournament.

The tournament is “really motivating for anyone coming back next year.really great trip and great experience for everyone,” Blosser added.