WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY PREPARES
TO DEFEND ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP

MWith 19 players returning from a team that posted its best season ever and made the postseason for the first time in 13 years, Washington University will look to defend its University Athletic Association title as historic Sanford Memorial Stadium plays host to the annual Association championship tournament for the fifth consecutive year.

MLast year, the Bears captured its first outright UAA championship and third title overall, taking that momentum all the way to a single-season school record for wins with a 32-10 mark and a berth to the NCAA Division III Championship.

MHowever, as anyone familiar with this tournament knows, winning this thing back-to-back — especially outright — does not come easy. Emory University, winners of three of the previous five Association championships, and five-time champion Brandeis University, will join Case Western Reserve Univeristy and the University of Rochester in looking to mix things up with the champs over the next five days.

MWashington enters this year’s Association championship with the 19 returning members of a squad that led the tournament in hitting (338 batting average) and pitching (2.20 earned run average). The Bears return All-UAA first team honorees in Alan Germano, Sam Hahn, and last season’s Association Player of the Year Andy Shields.

MGermano posted a .409 batting average (three doubles, four runs batted in) and a .545 slugging percentage in six tournament games, while Hahn batted .360 with four RBI. Shields, who performed double duty as an outfielder and pitcher, batted .353 in five tournament games. He was also instrumental on the mound with a complete-game win over Emory.

MEmory, which finished in a three-way tie for second place in last year’s championship with Brandeis University and the University of Rochester, returns 25 letterwinners from a squad that dropped three tournament games for only the fourth time since making its debut in 1991.

MSenior Taylor Gettinger, last year’s tournament hitting champion with a .556 batting average, a 1.056 slugging percentage, and five extra-base hits (three doubles, two home runs), and junior Griffin Baum (.471 batting avg., .824 slugging pct.) garnered All-UAA second team accolades a year ago. Senior All-UAA first team pick Ian Ganzer (2.70 earned-run average, nine strikeouts in 10 innings) and classmate Jason Glushon anchor a strong pitching staff, accounting for two of the Eagles’ three wins.

MBrandeis returns three All-UAA first team performers in juniors Ben Dashefsky and Jon Winston, and senior Zach Golden. Winston finished second in batting a year ago with a .529 average and four doubles, while Dashefsky (.320 batting avg., four RBI) and Golden (.333 batting average, .276 slugging percentage) ranked among the top hitters in Association play. Senior pitcher Tim Dunphy, a two-time All-Association honoree (first team in 2004, second team in 2005), struck out a tournament-high 12 batters in 14.2 innings en route to a 1-1 mark and a 3.07 ERA.

MJuniors Marshall Hampton (All-UAA second team in 2005, first team in 2004), Joe McCrackin, and John Thuermer highlight an experienced unit for Case Western Reserve University. Hampton and McCrackin were among the top ten hitters in Association play with identical .381 batting average, while Thuermer held opposing batters to a .196 average in posting a 1-1 record and a 2.92 ERA.

MRochester will look to figure into the championship chase despite losing nearly two-thirds of its starting lineup. Sophomore Dan Price hit .526 in five games en route to Association Rookie of the Year honors, while senior pitcher Steve Foley, the 2003 UAA Rookie of the Year, struck out seven batters and did not allow an earned run in 12 innings of work to earn All-UAA first team honors for the second time in three seasons.

FINAL STANDINGS
(For team's tournament stats, click on team name)

m	Record	Pct.
Emory	6-0	1.000
Washington	5-1	.833
Brandeis	3-3	.500
Case	1-5	.167
Rochester	0-6	.000

Tuesday, March 14
MEmory 11, Case 0 (7)
MEmory 3, Brandeis 1
MWashington 14, Rochester 2 (7)

Friday, March 17
MWashington 9, Rochester 3
MEmory 10, Washington 6
MBrandeis 14, Case 1

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Wednesday, March 15
MBrandeis 13, Case 3
MWashington 15, Case 5
MEmory 9, Rochester 1

Saturday, March 18
MEmory 4, Rochester 3
MCase 9, Rochester 6
MWashington 2, Brandeis 0

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Thursday, March 16
MWashington 5, Brandeis 3
MBrandeis 10, Rochester 3
MEmory 18, Case 1