Ho-hum: Volleyball wins UAA title — again
Some things just never change. The No. 6 Bears’ volleyball team won its 16th straight University Athletic Association title, and 17th time in the league’s 18 years, with 3-1 wins against No. 23 Carnegie Mellon University and No. 11 Emory University in the UAA championships Nov. 6.
The Bears opened the day with a 30-20, 27-30, 30-24, 30-23 win over Carnegie Mellon. Junior Megan Houck paced WUSTL with 20 kills, one shy of her career high. Houck hit .548 for the match and also registered three blocks. Senior Ishi Ballew and freshman Emilie Walk added 12 kills apiece.
The Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Emory with 30-27 and 30-28 wins in the first and second games. Emory rallied for a 30-25 win in the third, but the Bears responded in the fourth with a 30-22 victory. Houck led the Bears again with 15 kills, while Smith tallied 12.
WUSTL rolled through pool play Nov. 5, earning 3-0 sweeps against Brandeis University, the University of Rochester and No. 10 New York University. Washington U. (28-6, 12-0 UAA) will travel to the 2004 NCAA Central Regional Championship Nov. 11-13 in Pella, Iowa. The top-seeded Bears will be joined by host and Central College, (No. 2 seed, No. 12 nationally) Elmhurst College (No. 3, No. 21), Nebraska Wesleyan University (No. 4), Calvin College (No. 5) and Fontbonne University (No. 6).
Women’s soccer headsto NCAA Tournament
The No. 16 women’s soccer team gained an at-large bid to the 2004 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship, as announced Nov. 7 by the NCAA. The Bears received a first-round bye and will host Principia College (16-3-1) at Francis Field Nov. 13 at a time to be determined.
Washington University clinched a tie for the UAA championship Nov. 6 with a 3-0 win against No. 11 University of Chicago.
Washington U. and Emory tied for the UAA title with 18 points apiece, but the Eagles won the tiebreaker due to a 1-0 win at Francis Field Oct. 10 to gain the automatic bid.
Washington U. leads the all-time series with Principia 14-3, including a 4-1 win at Principia on Oct. 5. The Bears have made four NCAA Tournament appearances — 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2003 —prior to this season.
Men’s soccer endsseason on high note
Senior Matt Twardowski scored the game-winning goal in the 74th minute as the men’s soccer team closed out the regular season with a 2-1 win over No. 11 University of Chicago Nov. 6 at Francis Field.
The Bears finished at 12-5-2 overall, 3-2-2 in the UAA.
Chicago got on the board first in the 41st minute when Ryan Ehle scored, but the Bears wasted no time in scoring the equalizer. Just 49 seconds later, junior David Borton intercepted a pass from Chicago goalie Keith Crum and beat him to the right corner with a shot. The score remained tied until Twardowski slid through the Chicago defense and chipped the ball off Crum’s head for his second goal of the year.
Duesing’s career daynot enough for Bears
The football team’s four-game winning streak was snapped as Washington & Jefferson College posted a 28-6 win Nov. 6 at Cameron Stadium in Washington, Pa. Washington & Jefferson closed its regular season with a perfect 10-0 record, while the Bears fell to 5-4.
Junior wide receiver Brad Duesing had a career day as he tied his school record with 14 receptions for 203 yards. Duesing also recorded 14 receptions in 2002 against Rhodes College.
Senior quarterback Adam Meranda finished the day 27 of 52 for 269 yards and three interceptions as he moved into fourth on the all-time passing yardage list (3,853).
Washington & Jefferson outgained Washington U. 442-263 in total offense, including 145 to -6 on the ground.
Felber, Fowler-Finnacademic all district
Soccer players Charlotte Felber and MeghanMarie Fowler-Finn have been named to the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-District VII College Division Women’s Soccer Team, as announced by CoSIDA. Felber was named to the first team while Finn earned second-team honors.
Felber, a senior goalkeeper, leads the No. 16 Bears with a 0.45 goals-against average while posting a 15-2 record in the nets. She has allowed just seven goals in 1,385 minutes and has posted a .854 save percentage. Felber has a 3.65 grade point average in architecture and is a three-time member of the UAA All-Academic Team.
Finn, a sophomore midfielder, leads the Bears in goals (10), points (22), shots (49) and game-winning goals (four). Fowler-Finn has a 3.89 grade point average and is 2004 UAA All-Academic Team member. She ranks fifth in career game-winning goals (six), seventh in career goals (20) and ninth in career points (44).
Felber is now eligible for selection to the Academic All-American team, which will be announced Nov. 22.