Bears Begin 2009-10 Season Ranked No. 1 by Sporting News

St. Louis, Mo., October 6, 2009 – The two-time defending NCAA Division III national champion Washington University in St. Louis men’s basketball team is ranked No. 1 in the Sporting News College Basketball Magazine top-10 poll, which is currently available on news stands.

Guilford, who was defeated by Washington University in the Final Four and brought home the third-place trophy a year ago, was picked second.

National runner-up Richard Stockton and Final Four participant Franklin & Marshall College were chosen No. 3 and No. 4, while the College of Wooster, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, John Carroll University, DeSales, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Brooklyn College rounded out the top-10.

Head coach Mark Edwards guided Washington University to a school-record 29-2 overall mark and the 2009 National Championship with a 61-52 victory over Richard Stockton College on March 21, in Salem, Va. Washington U. also won its ninth University Athletic Association (UAA) title, and advanced to the Final Four for the third time in school history.

The Bears return 15 letterwinners and four starters from last year’s national title team, including preseason first-team All-America selections in graduate student guard Sean Wallis and senior guard Aaron Thompson. Joining Wallis and Thompson on the first team were Darnell Braswell of DeSales University, Santini Lancioni of Richard Stockton College and Tyler Sanborn of Guilford College.

Wallis averaged 11.1 points and a UAA-best and third in all NCAA Divisions 8.1 assists per game and shot 83.5 percent from the foul line a year ago. He was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and was a first-team all-UAA and second-team D3hoops.com All-America honoree. Wallis was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Wheaton Sectional and the Final Four after averaging 14.5 points and 7.0 assists per game during the Bears’ run to the 2009 National Championship.

Thompson, the 2009 UAA Most Valuable Player, averaged a team-best 18.0 points per game and led the conference with 96 three-pointers made. A first-team D3hoops.com and DIII News All-America honoree, he scored in double figures in 29-of-31 games played last season. Thompson averaged 17.0 points and 7.0 rebounds at the Final Four en route to NCAA All-Tournament Team honors.

Edwards enters his 29th season on the Danforth Campus with an overall record of 505-236 (.682). The 2009 Molten/DIII News and NABC Division III National Coach of the Year has guided the Bears to a school-record 25-consecutive winning seasons.

Washington University begins its title defense on Sunday, Nov. 15, at home against MacMurray College. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at the WU Field House.

2009 Sporting News Division III Top-10 Poll
1. Washington University
2. Guilford
3. Richard Stockton
4. Franklin & Marshall
5. Wooster
6. Massachusetts-Dartmouth
7. John Carroll
8. DeSales
9. UW-Stevens Point
10. Brooklyn

2009 Sporting News Division III Preseason All-Americans
Darnell Braswell, DeSales University
Santini Lancioni, Richard Stockton College
Tyler Sanborn, Guilford College
Aaron Thompson, Washington University
Sean Wallis, Washington University