For the first time in 16 years, the No. 17 WashU men’s basketball team will play in the Final Four after defeating the No. 5 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 80-66 on March 15.

For the Washington University women’s tennis team, the 2024 season was one to remember. The team finished with a 19-5 record, logging their highest win total in the last decade. After missing out on the NCAA tournament as a team the last two seasons, they not only punched their ticket, but hosted and won a regional to earn a berth in the Elite Eight for just the sixth time in program history. 

By tapping into the trust they have for each other off the court, Randi and Duez Henderson have been able to make difficult choices without sacrificing their love for one another.

“When someone is a student of the game and has expertise and enthusiasm, that’s a scary combination,” Director of Athletics Anthony Azama said.

“It was a great battle, a heck of a fight with Pomona,” head coach Jim Conlon said as he held back tears. “The ball just didn’t bounce our way today.”

The Washington University women’s basketball team made it to the Elite Eight last season before falling to the top seed in the NCAA playoffs. I sat down with St. Louis native Kristina Schmelter, one of the team’s two seniors, to talk about her experience on the team and what she expects from the year to come.

In a weekend full of individual successes and milestones, there was one true winner in the Washington University women’s volleyball team: the team itself.