Bears See Seven Earn UAA Athlete of the Week Accolades

St. Louis, Mo., November 17, 2009 – Coming off a week in which it saw four programs advance in NCAA postseason competition and its pair of top-ranked basketball teams open their 2009-10 campaigns with big wins, Washington University in St. Louis had seven student-athletes earn University Athletic Association (UAA) Athlete of the Week honors, as announced Tuesday by the Association.

Freshman setter Marilee Fisher of the No. 4 volleyball team, senior Elyse Hanley and freshman Clara Jaques of the No. 17 women’s soccer team, junior Taryn Surtees and Michael Burnstein of the men’s and women’s cross country teams, senior Aaron Thompson and senior Zoë Unruh of the No. 1 men’s and women’s basketball teams all received the conference honor.

Fisher helped Washington University capture the 2009 NCAA Division III Central Regional Championship and advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the 20th time in school history. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the regional tournament, tallying 128 assists, 11.64 per set, in addition to 17 kills, 23 digs and eight total blocks. Fisher, who leads NCAA Division III in assists per set at 11.51, had 34 assists, eight digs, and two block assists in the Bears’ 3-0 win over No. 8 Carthage College in the regional final on Nov. 14, at the WU Field House in St. Louis, Mo.

Hanley and Jaques played crucial roles for the WU women’s soccer team as it picked up a pair of overtime victories to advance to the NCAA Division III sectional round, to be held Friday-Saturday, Nov. 20-21, in Rock Island, Ill. Hanley scored the game-winning goal two minutes into overtime to lead the Bears to a 1-0 win over No. 21 Illinois Wesleyan University in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last Sunday.

Jaques played all 186 minutes in goal for the Red and Green last weekend, allowing just one goal in two games. Shestopped a pair of shots in Washington University’s 2-1 win over Webster University, and made four saves in the victory over Illinois Wesleyan in Sunday’s regional final at Francis Field in St. Louis, Mo.

The Washington U. men’s and women’s cross country teams each earned a spot at the 2009 NCAA Division III Championships, to be held Saturday, Nov. 21, in Cleveland, Ohio, and Surtees and Burnstein led the way for their respective teams. The WU women placed second at the NCAA Midwest Regionals held in Winneconne, Wis., on Nov. 14, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Surtees earned All-Region honors for the third-time in her career with a NCAA Regional personal best second-place overall finish in the 6k race with a time of 21:07.

Burnstein garnered All-Region recognition for the first time in his career as he finished 16th overall in the men’s 8k race at the NCAA Midwest Regionals. With a time of 24:53, he led unranked Washington U. to a third-place overall finish, ahead of six teams ranked in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Top-35 Poll, and WU earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships. It is the first time the team has qualified for the NCAA meet since 2006 and just the fifth time in school history.

Thompson scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Washington University men’s basketball team to an 88-53 win over MacMurray College on Sunday at the WU Field House in St. Louis, Mo. Thompson shot 9-of-19 from the field and was 5-of-11 from three-point range as he moved into 16th place on the Washington U. all-time scoring list with 1,148 career points.

Unruh filled up the stat sheet as the top-ranked women’s basketball team defeated Augustana College, 71-36, in its season opener on Sunday at the WU Field House. She shot 7-for-14 from the field and sunk a pair of three-pointers in collecting her 16 points. Unruh also grabbed six rebounds, dished out a team-high five assists, blocked a shot and registered one steal.