Bear Beats: Episode 26, For Competition Through Mar. 1

**ST. LOUIS, Mo. **- The Bear Beats is a weekly release that will be posted on Mondays to provide a look back at the past week of action and to preview the events for the upcoming week. The 26th episode for the 2025-26 year will feature men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's indoor track and field, women's tennis, baseball, and softball.

A look in the rear-view mirror (events from Feb. 23 – Mar. 1):

No. 1 Women's Tennis

No. 2 Women and No. 11 Men's Indoor Track & Field

No. 10 Women and No. 14 Men's Swimming and Diving

No. 16 Women's Basketball

No. 20 Baseball

No. 24 Softball

No. 24 Men's Basketball

On the horizon:

No. 1 Women's Tennis

• WashU is on the road this weekend competing at the ITA Div. III National Women's Team Indoor Championship on Friday, Feb. 27 through Sunday, Mar. 1

• The tournament is taking place at the Farm and Forge Tennis Club in College Grove, Tenn.

• The Bears will start their tournament with a match against No. 27 Sewanee on Friday at 2:30 p.m.

• Live stats for the championship can be found

here.

No. 2 Women's and No. 11 Men's Indoor Track & Field

• WashU will send some team members for a last chance to qualify for the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend.

• The Bears will travel to the 2026 Wartburg Qualifier on Friday and Saturday, Mar. 6-7 at the Hoover Field House and Indoor Track

• Friday will consist of events of the men's and women's multi's while also competing in the Distance Medley Relay for both programs.

• The rest of the events will begin on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

No. 14 Men's Basketball

• NCAA Tournament Bound! WashU received an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Div. III Tournament on Monday and will host the first and second rounds of the tournament at the Field House.

• The Bears will take on Transylvania in the first round on Friday, Mar. 6 at 7:35 p.m. CT

• Transy is the automatic qualifier out of the HCAC after defeating Anderson 91-79 in the championship game.

• The Pioneers claimed the only previous matchup, 73-69, in December 2009.

• The other first round will see Loras, the automatic qualifier out of the American Rivers Conference, against UW-Whitewater, an at-large bid out of the WIAC.

• The Duhawks and Warhawks will play on Friday, Mar. 6 at 5:05 p.m. CT.

• The Bears are 2-0 all-time against UWW and has never played Loras.

• The two first-round winners will face off on Saturday, Mar. 6 at 7:35 p.m. CT

• Please check back to WashUBears.com for the latest updates

No. 15 Women's Basketball

• NCAA Tournament Bound! WashU received an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Div. III Tournament on Monday and will travel to No. 16 Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio for the first and second rounds.

• The Bears match up with SUNY Geneseo in the first round on Friday, Mar. 6 at 3:45 p.m. CT.

• The Knights are the automatic qualifier out of the Empire 8 conference after entering as the four-seed, defeating Houghton in the championship.

• The other first round matchup at OWU features the No. 16 host Battling Bishops against the DeSales Bulldogs on Friday, Mar. 6 at 6:15 p.m. CT

• OWU received an at-large bid out of the NCAC after falling to No. 11 John Carroll in the semifinals.

• DeSales claimed the MAC Freedom championship 59-51 over Stevens to earn the conference's automatic bid.

• WashU's only matchup all-time against their regional opponents was against OWU on Nov. 18, 2022 when the Bears won 80-57 during the McWilliams Classic.

• The winners of the first round will face off in the second contest on Saturday, Mar. 7 at 6:15 p.m. CT

• Please check back to WashUBears.com for the latest updates

No. 16 Men's Tennis

• WashU is back in action this weekend when it hosts Div. II Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday, Mar. 6 at 11 a.m.

• The match will be played at the Tao Tennis Courts on campus for the Bears' home opener.

• This is the first meeting between the two teams.

• Live stats will be made available later this week.

• Live video through FloSports can be viewed

here.

No. 20 Baseball

• WashU will host a three-game series against Illinois Wesleyan this weekend on Saturday, Mar. 7 and Sunday, Mar. 8 on Kelly Field at Irv Utz Stadium.

• The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday with an 11 a.m. first pitch and will wrap up the series on Sunday with a single game at 12 p.m.

• Prior to the first pitch on Sunday the team will recognize its senior class with a special ceremony for their years of dedication to the program.

• The Bears own a 23-17 record against the Titans, going back to 2008.

• Last season, the Bears won the first two games of the series against IWU before falling in the finale.

• Live stats for all three games can be found

here.

• Live video through FloSports for Saturday can viewed

here and Sunday can be viewed here.

No. 24 Softball

• WashU will host both No. 11 Wis.-Whitewater and Rhodes in a pair of games against each of the other at the WashU Softball Field.

• On Saturday, Mar. 7 the Bears will take on the Warhawks at 11 a.m. before facing the Lynx at 1 p.m. UWW and Rhodes will play each other at 3 p.m.

• The next day on Sunday, Mar. 8 will seed UWW and Rhodes play at 11 a.m. with WashU facing UWW at 1 p.m. and Rhodes at 3 p.m.

• The last time the Bears and Warhawks faced each other was the 2011 season with UWW coming away with a 2-1 win in St. Louis.

• WashU has not faced Rhodes since 2019 in Kissimmee, Fla. with the Bears prevailing 7-0. The Bears lead the all-time series 3-2 going back to 2011.

• Live stats can be found

here.

• Live video can be found

here.

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