Earl Austin Jr: Washington U. men and women remain nationally ranked

Washington U. men and women remain nationally ranked
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Earl  Austin on 09/02/2010 20:15:00
 
BOTH TEAMS ARE ALSO SIMILAR IN THAT THEY ARE VERY EXPERIENCED SQUADS THAT RELY
ON JUNIORS AND SENIORS TO CARRY THE LOAD.
Coach Mark Edwards’ men are currently ranked No. 3 in the latest Division III
poll. The Bears have the best backcourt in Division III basketball in 6’4”
senior Austin Thompson and 6’2” graduate student Sean Wallis.
Thompson is averaging a team-high 16.6 points a game while Wallis is averaging
13 points a game while leading the team with 147 assists after 20 games.
Up front, the Bears have veteran experience in 6’5” senior Cameron Cmith and
6’6” juniors Spencer Gay and Caleb Knepper. They combine to average 24
points a game.
On the women’s side, coach Nancy Fahey’s has her Lady Bears ranked No. 6 in
the nation. They are led by 6’0” senior guard Zoe Unruh, who averages 12
points a game, including 37 3-pointers. Unruh was also selected to the NCAA
Division III Academic All-District Second Team.
Jaimie McFarlin, a 5’11” senior graduate student, averages 10 points and
eight rebounds a game while 5’10” senior Janice Evans averages 10 points and
five rebounds a game. Junior Alex Hoover averages eight points a game while
6’1” junior Kathryn Berger averages 7.4 points and 5.7 rebounds a game.
Both the Bears men and women were selected as the Division III Programs of the
Decade by DIII News Today. Edwards and Fahey were named the Coaches of the
Decade as well.
Between the years 2000-2009, the Wash. U. men won two national championships and
earned three berths to the Final Four. Center Troy Ruths was the National Player
of the Year in 2008.
Meanwhile, the women won two national titles, advanced to the national
championship game four times and had an incredible 81-game winning streak. They
also had National Players of the Year in Alia Fischer (2001) and Tasha Rodgers
(2001). They also ended the decade of the 1990’s with two national
championships in 1998 and ’99, making it a four-peat.