Archive for the ‘Football’ Category

The Changing Seasons

Sunday, November 1st, 2009 | Johann Qua Hiansen

With the falling leaves and colder temperatures as a backdrop, the fall sports have begun to reach the end of their seasons.

Congratulations are in order to the women’s cross country team for winning UAAs and the men’s team for taking fourth. Junior Taryn Surtees repeated as individual champion and we’ll see how the team looks at Regionals in Wisconsin.

The No. 3 volleyball team steamrolled through the Bears Classic in preparation for UAAs and an automatic NCAA tournament bid. Seniors Erin Albers and Laura Brazeal were recognized on Friday night before the Bears dismantled the Wildcats of Culver-Stockton College. Congratulations to these two great seniors for all of their accomplishments.

The only other home action was swimming and diving. Every year swimmers seem to get faster and faster from the start. Freshman Meg Powers took control with two individual first place finishes, a second place finish in the 2oo back and a first in the 400 free relay. On the men’s side, junior David Chao was the lone Wash. U. swimmer to win an event against Div. I SIUE on Friday. Chao also contributed to the meet clinching 400 free relay at the end as the Bears edged DePauw by four points overall.

Both men’s and women’s soccer picked up wins against Brandeis on Friday. The men’s team fell to NYU while the women picked up an OT victory on a header by senior Becca Heymann. The women have the better chance of taking the conference with a tie and five wins so far.  The Lady Bears are only one point ahead of Rochester. The Bears must beat Chicago to capture the outright title or tie to share the title.. If they lose and Rochester wins, the Lady Bears will be second.  The men will need several upsets and win their Chicago game for a shot at sharing the title.

Women’s golf leapt up the rankings  to No. 5 without playing in a tournament.

Just two weeks remain till the first men’s basketball game the season and a few days before an exhibition women’s game against SIUE. Both Wash. U. teams are ranked preseason No. 1.

Playing sports for good

Monday, October 12th, 2009 | Johann Qua Hiansen

St. Louis’ temperature took a turn for the worse with daily lows dropping into the upper 30s.  Cold wins kept most fans in their warm dorms on Sunday afternoon.

Hopefully, people will cheer on the men’s team on Tuesday night as they look to rebound from only their second loss this season. The game is a fundraiser for the Sunbeam Foundation which is dedicated towards research on rare childhood bone cancers. A Wash. U. soccer alum started the organization after his sister died due to Ewing’s Sarcoma.

As a reporter, I enjoy seeing athletes interacting with young fans and talking to them about their sports. I’m happy that various groups can use sports to help others in monetary terms or in kind. It’s really nice to see young kids having the time of their lives as they get inspired by my peers. This upcoming Saturday, members of the Olin Sports Marketing Organization will be helping out with a Football Youth Day. Last week, I covered a volleyball tournament hosted by Chi Omega that raised funds for the Make a Wish Foundation.

It’s efforts like these and others that show why sports are so important right now. The lessons learned on the field transcend those in the classroom. While playing sports, one learns sportsmanship, control, and focus.  People can also see the effect of hard work on their performance.

I’d call this past weekend a split for Wash. U. Athletics. Volleyball swept through their tournament as expected for the No. 5 program in the nation and women’s soccer beat Carnegie Mellon 1-0. The women’s soccer game was the only one I saw and from what I could see, they’ve got some very good communication on the field though there’s always room for improvement.

Football played a pretty competitive game with No. 11 Wabash thanks in large part to the defense.  When you’re up against the top offensive unit by points and you can hold them to 17 points into the end of the game, that’s pretty promising. We just need more offense and there were some big plays at Wabash so I’m sure we’ll see something against Wooster.

Men’s soccer fell 2-0 to No. 14 Carnegie Mellon but they adjusted and shut the Tartans down in the second half. Swimming and cross country are really challenging themselves by competing with Division I athletes which is great to see. This should prepare them for UAAs, Regionals and maybe even Nationals.

Here’s wishing to the success of all these charitable endeavors and for some wins this week.

UAA play begins

Sunday, October 4th, 2009 | Johann Qua Hiansen

The wait’s over and at the mid point of the fall season, the volleyball and soccer teams have begun conference play.

Volleyball

The Red and Green continued their historic dominance over Rochester, Brandeis and Case Western Reserve. Some of the sets were close probably as a result of the week long break Wash. U. took prior to starting practice again last Tuesday. The next round of UAA play starting Oct.  16 will tell the story.

Men’s Soccer

The men’s team snapped a six game winless streak against the Eagles with a 2-0 victory. Senior John Smelcer and the defensive unit made a huge difference with Smelcer making five saves. The Wash. U. defense kept pressure on the Eagles allowing 13 shots but only five on goal.  The Bears offense produced nine shots on goal with Harry Beddo scoring the game winner and John Hengel knocking in the insurance goal. Wash. U. looks to No. 10 Carnegie Mellon this weekend.

Women’s Soccer

The women’s team battled hard against the Emory Eagles giving up the first goal. Emma Brown answered with a goal of her own as freshman Clara Jacques made a career high eight saves. Defense will be key against Carnegie Mellon this upcoming weekend. The women’s team plays Division II UMSL this Wednesday and picked up their first draw of the season this weekend.

Football

It was great to see the football time scoring several times over the weekend after being trampled against Wittenberg. The Bears have a tough opponent with unbeaten Wabash College next weekend. Congratulations to junior Jim O’Brien on passing the 1,000 yard career rushing mark. Sophomore Austin Morman continued to put the Rhodes College Lynx in a bad position whenever the Bears were forced to punt. The coverage was a lot better this weekend with the Lynx receiver being taken down without the first five yards of a reception.

It’s Been Awhile

Monday, September 28th, 2009 | Johann Qua Hiansen

Last weekend was fairly quiet for Wash. U. sports. There was only one varsity game on Friday night with the women’s soccer team triumphing over Division I Southeast Missouri State University 4-1. Senior Caryn Rosoff  continued her offensive tear with yet another hat trick, her second in just as many games. UAA conference play will be interesting starting this weekend against Emory University. The forwards including sophomores Emma Brown, Lee Ann Felder and Rosoff seem to be a cohesive offensive unit now.

Volleyball took a complete break from practice after last Wednesday’s victory over Fontbonne University. They resume practice today so I look forward to seeing how they do at the first UAA Round Robin at Rochester this weekend.

Men’s soccer bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 1-0 win over Greenville. I’ve been seeing a lot of players scoring their first goals recently. It just shows how each player is a threat.

Men’s tennis continued their dominance of the ITA Central Regionals. Senior John Watts picked up his fourth individual title while juniors Isaac Stein and Max Woods captured the doubles title.

Women’s golf ended a very successful fall season with a second place finish at the Millikin University Fall Classic. The Lady Bears pulled off a two stroke victory over regional rival Illinois Wesleyan.

Football will have a season defining game this weekend against Rhodes College at home.After the 46-0 rout at the hands of Wittenberg University a few weeks ago, the football team needs to make a statement in order to salvage the season.

W.I.L.D., the semi annual concert is also this Saturday so it’ll be curious to see what the fan dynamic is like.

Ahead in Student Life coverage:

  • Interviewing the Bear mascot
  • More alternative story formats
  • Columns
  • And a lot more

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