Wash U No. 1, Emory No. 6 in Director's Cup

Washington University is No. 1 in the fall Director's Cup standings, and Emory is No. 6. See how the other UAA schools fared. Fall standings

The Nerdy Nine

Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore was one of the founding members of the University Athletic Association in 1987.

The school's athletic director at the time was Bob Scott, who had coached lacrosse at Johns Hopkins from 1955 to 1974 and won seven national championships. Bob Scott also wrote "Lacrosse: Technique and Tradition," which was published Oct. 1, 1976. It is considered to be the best instructional book ever about lacrosse.

Lacrosse is king at Johns Hopkins, where simply fielding a team is not the goal, where simply fielding a competitive team is not the goal. Year in and year out, the goal of the Johns Hopkins lacrosse program is to compete for and win national championships. The men's team has won 44 national championships since first competing in 1892. The women's team has won three.

Partly because of the travel costs associated with the UAA and partly because of a dedication to Division I lacrosse, Johns Hopkins dropped out of the conference after the 2000-01 athletic seasons.  The Blue Jays joined the Division III Centennial Conference, which also includes Muhlenberg, Swarthmore, Ursinus, Franklin and Marshall, Haverford, Gettysburg, Washington College,, Dickinson, Bryn Mawr and McDaniel.

In lacrosse, however, Johns Hopkins competes in Division I. NCAA rules allow D3 schools to compete and offer scholarships in one men's sport and one women's sport, except football and basketball. Other D3 schools with one Division I program are Colorado College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in men's ice hockey.

Tim Downes, the athletics director at Emory University, served as an associate AD at Johns Hopkins from 1995 to 1999. Steve Duncan, the new head baseball coach at Washington University, was an assistant baseball coach at Johns Hopkins from 2008 to 2010.

The UAA has several nicknames. The "Traveling Conference" and the "Airplane Conference" refer to the fact that UAA athletic teams have to fly to a majority of their conference games. Of course, Case Western Reserve, Carnegie Mellon and the University of  Rochester are within "bus and van" distance, which is how the vast majority of the 450 Division II teams travel.

The "Geek League," another nickname, however, is all about the tendency of UAA athletes to major in subjects such as microbiology, biochemistry or computer engineering. And why shouldn't they? UAA schools are among the most elite academic universities in the country, and most offer a full menu of options for academic pursuits. But the sciences and engineering stand out.

While doing research for my book about the UAA, I visited Brandeis University in October 2010 and stopped at the Rose Art Museum. The Rose is known for its collection of contemporary and modern art. When I told the student who was working at the entrance desk why I was at Brandeis on that fall afternoon, she said, "Oh, you're writing about the 'Nerdy Nine'." That was the first time I had heard that particular nickname.

Apparently the alliteration and cleverness of it has outlasted the fact that Johns Hopkins dropped out.

This blog entry is based on research for my book about the University Athletic Association.

Please email me at kevinsquieraustin@gmail.com with the names of UAA athletes from 1987 to the present who have significant career, personal and community accomplishments since graduation.

Copyright 2010, Kevin S. Austin

Emory Plays for National Championship Monday

The Emory University volleyball team will play for the NCAA Division III championship on Monday after beating Washington University 3-1 (18-25, 29-27, 25-21, 25-20) on Saturday.

Emory lost to Wash U in five sets on Oct. 16 and beat the Bears in four sets in November for the University Athletic Association title.

Emory plays Calvin College at 3 p.m. ET for the national title. Washington won the national championship last year, and Emory won in 2008.

Check the Emory Athletics website for live video and statistics.

Soccer: The Emory women were the only other UAA school still alive for a national title this weekend, but they lost to Hardin-Simmons 2-1 on Saturday on Hardin-Simmons home field. The Eagles ended the season 16-2-4. No. 2-ranked Hardin-Simmons is undefeated. Match story.

Men's cross country: All five UAA men's teams finished in the top 20 in the Division III championship meet on Saturday: 9. Washington; 10. NYU; 16. Brandeis; 17. Rochester; 20. Carnegie Mellon.

The top five UAA finishers were:
23. James Vavra, Jr 24:50.1, Rochester
24. Michael Burnstein, Jr 24:51.8, Washington
29. Andrew Zitek, Jr 24:57.9, NYU
30. Sebastian Schwelm, Sr 24:59.4, NYU
45. David Hamm, So 25:11.9, Washington


Women's cross country: Washington University finished second in the championship meet, eight points behind winner Middlebury. 2. Washington; 10. Chicago; 18. Case Western Reserve; 26. Emory; 28. NYU.


The top five UAA finishers were:
4. Elizabeth Lawton, Sr 21:22.0, Chicago
6. Taryn Surtees, Sr 21:26.1, Washington
8. Justine Jeroski, Sr 21:28.6, Case Western Reserve
23. Elizabeth Phillips, Jr 21:49.1 , Washington
30. Jessica Londeree, Sr 21:58.2, Washington

Complete results.

Wash U vs. Emory in Volleyball Quarterfinals

The Emory and Washington University volleyball teams will meet for the third time this season in Saturday's national championship quarterfinals.

The two teams split their earlier matches in UAA competition.

Washington beat NYU 3-0 and Emory beat Christopher Newport 3-2 in matches played Friday at Washington, which is hosting the national championship.

The match begins at 7 p.m. ET.

On the other side of the bracket, Juniata faces Calvin at 4:30 ET.

The championship match is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday.

LIVE VIDEO

LIVE STATS

NCAA Volleyball Tournament Starts Friday

Emory's volleyball team celebrates winning regional championship Sunday.

Volleyball
Here are the matchups for the volleyball championship this weekend at Washington University, with each team's national ranking in parentheses. Wash U, Emory and NYU are all in the same bracket, so there won't be an all-UAA final.

12:30 p.m. Friday - University of St. Thomas (12) vs.  Juniata College (3)
3:00 p.m. Friday - Calvin College (10) vs. University of Massachusetts-Boston (24)
5:30 p.m. - Emory University (1) vs. Christopher Newport University (5)
8:00 p.m. - Washington University in St. Louis (3) vs. NYU (15)

Check the Wash U web site for more information and live coverage on Friday. Washington University Athletics

Soccer
Emory will play Wheaton in the next round of the NCAA women's soccer championship Friday in Abilene, Texas, at 2:30 p.m.

The teams do have at least one common opponent in the regular season: The University of Chicago. Emory lost at home to Chicago 1-0, and the Maroons lost on the road to Wheaton 1-0.

Check the Emory web site for more information and live coverage on Friday. Emory Athletics

Emory, Wash U, NYU Advance in Volleyball

All three UAA teams in the NCAA volleyball tournament have advanced to the Finals.

No. 1-ranked Emory beat Cal Lutheran in five sets, while Washington swept UW-Platteville and NYU swept Stevens.

The championships start Friday at Washington University in St. Louis.

In women's soccer, Emory is going to the Sweet 16.
The Eagles beat Lynchburg 1-0 in the second overtime period in a very physical match that included three yellow cards.
The Brandeis women's team lost 6-0 in a second-round match against Williams.

In men's soccer, Wash U lost to Loras in a shootout at  historic Francis Field in St. Louis, and Emory lost to Lynchburg 2-1 in Atlanta.

•  Cross country: Five men's teams from the UAA qualified as at-large teams for the national championship meet: Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, Rochester and Washington University.
On the women's side, Emory and Washington University earned automatic bids.
Case Western Reserve, Chicago and NYU all earned at-large bids.
Individual qualifiers are: Hillary Snyder of Rochester; and Emily Wobb and Cortney Baker of Carnegie Mellon.
The championship meets, hosted by Wartburg College, will take place in Waverly, Iowa, on Nov. 20. The men's race starts at 11 a.m. ET, with the men's race at noon.

A Very Good Day for the UAA

Waiting for the NCAA tournament field at Washington University.

The NCAA announced tournament selections Monday in men's and women's soccer and volleyball, and once again the University Athletic Association came out very well.

Five of eight women's soccer teams  made the D3 field of 64, a record for the conference. The teams are Chicago (conference champion), Emory, Washington, Rochester and Brandeis.

In men's soccer, four UAA teams made the field, including conference champion NYU and Emory, Washington, and Rochester.

In volleyball, another record for the UAA, as five teams were selected: UAA champ Emory, defending national champion Washington, NYU, Chicago and Case Western Reserve. The bids are the first ever for Chicago and Case Western Reserve. It shows how far the conference has come after the recent dominance of Emory, Washington and NYU.

In St. Louis this morning, Washington's women's soccer team showed up early at the athletics complex to watch the scheduled webcast, but they ended up having to wait and wait and wait.
The Bears, who finished second nationally last year,  were on the bubble.
The team, coaches and Athletics Director John Schael gathered in the lobby of the athletics complex for what was supposed to be an 8 am CST live webcast. After waiting a half hour, they were informed that the webcast was canceled and that the field would be released at 9, St. Louis time. They filled the time studying, joking, braiding hair, drinking orange juice and chocolate milk and eating bagels and muffins provided by the athletics department.
No one seemed surprised that the announcement was delayed.

When the field was finally announced, just after 9, I could hear their cheers all the way from the basement office of women's basketball coach Nancy Fahey, whom I was interviewing. (Her team won the national championship last year and in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. They reached the Final Four in four other seasons, and nine trophies crowd the top of a cabinet on the wall behind her desk.)

Now it's time for the Wash U women's team to schedule practices and make travel plans, something every UAA team is used to.

The volleyball team, ranked No. 1 nationally for much of the season, knew they would make the tournament and would have to travel for the regionals because they are hosting the national championship meet this year.

And the men's soccer team earned a bye and will play at home, at least for the first round.

It will make for a busy weekend around the UAA, with seven of eight schools competing in regional tournaments.

Tests and Quizzes at Washington University

Jeff Stiles and his wife, Heather, herd children Saturday night.

In the University Athletic Association, the "tests" are on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, between the lines.
And believe me, test results are important here at Washington University.
 But there are also quizzes, and some of them are fun.
Early Saturday night, Jeff Stiles hosted a fun, intra-squad meet for his cross-country and track teams.
It's become a yearly thing at Washington and included some unusual events, such as "how far can you run in 45 seconds," a 1200 meter race, and what was announced as the "Intergalactic Two Mile."
Jeff had charge of his own children, as well as the runners, early in the proceedings until his wife, Heather, took them off his hands. (Kids and dogs are standard at most UAA events.)
He would introduce the runners -- to each other -- before every event with jokes, nicknames and mock announcer  grandiosity.
During the races,  other team members jogged in packs (at least one was wearing a tutu) or worked out on the football field and cheered on their teammates. Jeff called out splits as the runners passed.
Coming one week before the NCAA regional cross country meet, the qualifiers didn't run, but it's a way for those who didn't make the regionals to race one last time. And to mark the end of indoor track's early training for the middle distance runners.
Track and treat.

Saturday, the men's soccer team beat Chicago in overtime 2-1. In seven UAA matches this season, Washington has played six overtime games, winning three, tying two and losing one.
A couple of dozen fans and teammates stormed the field and piled on near midfield after the score, which all but assures the Bears of an at-large bid in the NCAA D3 tournament.

In football, the Bears will play Chicago next week for the UAA championship after beating Case Western Reserve University 14-13, as we like to say in the sports world, a huge win. Case had won the conference for the last two years and had not lost at home since 2006.
The Bears are 7-2 for the first time since 2001 and blocked two field goal attempts to hold on.

In volleyball, the top-ranked Bears lost the UAA championship to Emory University in four sets. Not to worry, however. Washington also lost the UAA  title match last year and went on to win the NCAA championship. (In the course of the tournament, Rich Luenemann's team gave the coach his 1,000th career win.) This year, the NCAA championship will be played here at Washington.

A record of athletics excellence
The Directors' Cup is a ranking of overall athletic achievement compiled by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
Washington University in St. Louis has done pretty well in recent years:
2009-10  - 3rd
2008-09 - 4th
2007-08 - 2nd
2006-07 - 5th
2005-06 - 7th
So how does Washington do it?
One answer is continuity.
John Schael, the Washington University athletics director, has held that job since 1978.
The university has had only two chancellors during his tenure, and one of them, Chancellor Emeritus Dr. William H. Danforth, was instrumental in the formation of the UAA.
There have been only two deans of students.
And among head coaches, eight have been at WUSTL for 10 years or more; two have been here more than 20 years on staff; one has 30 years.

When I talked to John on Saturday in the stands of Francis Field during the men's soccer match, he added two more points: Success brings success and people build programs.

Honey update
Honey sprung a leak, and it's ugly. The kind of leak that leaves a mark and a smell.

Honey and the gates of Francis Field.

It must have happened because the temperature reached 26 on Friday night. Or maybe her plumbing just gave out. I doused it with bleach.
I had to drive into St. Louis this morning (I got lost) and find a year-round RV park with "dumping" facilities.
Problem solved, but now I'm going to have to find other facilities.
We're parked inside the massive iron gates of The Francis Field. It's on the Register of Historic Landmarks and, along with nearby Francis Gymnasium, was built for the 1904 Olympics. Most of the stands that once held 19,000 have been removed. Today, one long section remains along the south side of the soccer/football field that holds about 3,300 fans. It has Field Turf, and a modern, dark clay colored eight-lane track named Bushyhead Track. The light standards are old, faded utility poles crowned with banks of floodlights, and one has a security camera attached. According to Wikipedia, it is one of the oldest sports venues west of the Mississippi still in use. That's pretty vague, but there's no doubt that it is really old AND still being used.
Honey is honored.

The loneliness of the SID

Chris Mitchell was first in, last out of the Washington press box.

Along my 45-day trek, I have pestered and annoyed every Sports Information Director at each of the eight UAA schools.
And I'm not done yet.
They're mostly sports junkies, stats nuts, writers, facilitators and multi-taskers. They work long hours and almost always on weekends.
Amazingly, not one of them has snapped at me -- yet.
I'm grateful for their support and forbearance. Here they are in geographical order: Jeff Bernstein (NYU), Nick Minerd (Case Western Reserve), Mark Fisher (Carnegie Mellon University), Dennis O'Donnell (University of Rochester),  Anthony Moscaret (UAA), Adam Levin (Brandeis University),  John Farina (Emory University), Dave Hilbert (University of Chicago), and Chris Mitchell (Washington University).
On Saturday, after the teams and coaches and fans had left Francis Field, Chris was still writing away, filing stories for the Washington University website about a full day of games and matches.