This past week, the No. 9 women’s and No. 12 men’s WashU tennis teams traveled to Southern California and San Antonio, Texas, for their respective Spring Break trips.

The Bears went 2-1, winning the doubleheader on Saturday and dropping the game on Sunday. With these games, the Bears are now 5-1 in regular season play as they continue to ramp up their season. 

Senior Hayden Doyle has been an integral part of the WashU men’s basketball success this season, starting in all 24 games and the most minutes played of any player.

“The secret to success in sports is 90% mentality and 10% skill.” This is a commonly touted mantra in the field of athletics, where the top level is characterized by minimal differences in physicality. And swimming, the epitome of aerobic demand, is no different.

The WashU track and field teams traveled to Bloomington, Illinois to take part in the Keck Invitational hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University on Feb. 8. Coming off a strong performance at the third Friday Night Spikes on Jan. 31, the No. 2 women’s and No. 21 men’s team accumulated 10 and six top-three finishes on Saturday, respectively, while competing against 20 other teams from the region.  

As their two championships approach rapidly with roughly a month left in their seasons, the No. 11 men’s and No. 15 women’s WashU swim teams faced DePauw University on Feb. 1, with both teams coming out victorious. In their final tune-up before the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships, the men’s team won 196-85, and the women’s team won 189-100.

After starting the season with a record of 1-2 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play, which saw the Bears fall from No. 13 to unranked in Division III standings, the WashU women’s basketball team fought for two straight conference victories this past weekend. On Jan. 24, the Bears defeated the University of Rochester 86-76, and two days later, they traveled down to Atlanta, beating Emory University 67-56. WashU is now 3-2 in UAA play as they reach the halfway point of their two-month stretch of consecutive conference games.

In sports that are defined by endurance, the toughest section of a race or competition is often the last turn into the home stretch, with the finish just in sight — the infamous “turn three” in track and field, where races are won and lost. For the WashU men’s and women’s swim teams, their seasons are approaching this strenuous, demanding third turn. 

The No. 10 men’s and No. 14 women’s WashU swimming and diving teams fell to Division II No. 6 men’s and No. 17 women’s McKendree University, 105 points to 187 points and 120 points to 167 points, respectively, on Jan. 11.

WashU was able to beat Saint Benedict 3-0, but then fell 3-1 to No. 17 University of Wisconsin–Platteville the following day. The Bears’ season ended in the second round for the third season in a row, with a 29-7 record.