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.