ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The 2024-25 academic year was a memorable one for the Washington University in St. Louis Athletic Department, featuring two national titles, a slew of academic awards, more than 350 student-athletes named to all-conference academic teams, several individual national titles and so much more. Here are the Top 10 moments from 2024-25:

1. Two National Championships
   • The women's soccer team won WashU's first national championship of the academic year, ending the calendar year in a big way with the program's second national title on Dec. 8, 2024. After maintaining a No. 1 ranking all year, the Bears defeated William Smith 3-0 in the title game. In six postseason games, WashU allowed just one goal, recording five shutouts. First-year Olivia Clemons was named All-Tournament Offensive Player while graduate goalkeeper Sidney Conner, graduate defender Ally Hackett and junior forward Grace Ehlert were named to the All-Tournament Team.
   • The women's tennis team completed a run for the ages, taking down three Top-10 seeds en route to the program's first-ever national title. Starting with No. 1 and defending national champion Chicago, the Bears beat the Maroons 4-3 in the national quarterfinal. They moved on to beat No. 9 Johns Hopkins 4-1 in the national semifinal and sealed the deal with a 4-3 win over No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer in the title match. This marked not only the Bears' first program national crown, but also the first time the women's tennis program advanced beyond the national quarterfinal match.
      
2. Two Elite 90s
   • Sophomore Regan Cannon won the Elite 90 for women's soccer, becoming the first person in program history to earn the award. She holds a 4.0 GPA.
   • Sophomore Lucas Vogel won the Elite 90 for men's basketball, also marking the first time in men's basketball program history to win the award. He holds a 3.95 GPA.
      
3. Men's Basketball Reaches the Final Four
   • The Bears earned a trip to the Final Four for the first time since 2009 with an 80-66 win over UW-La Cross in the Elite 8 game, sparked by a career-high 31 points from senior Drake Kindsvater. It marked the fourth time in program history the Bears have reached the final site.
      
4. Yasmin Ruff Wins Two Pole Vault National Titles
   • Ruff claimed the first indoor national pole vault crown of her career on March 14, clearing 4.02m on her third and final attempt.
   • Ruff successfully defended her outdoor national pole vault title on May 22, clearing 4.05m on her first attempt at the height.
   • She finished her career at WashU with three pole vault national championships (two outdoor, one indoor)
      
5. Kyle Wolford Wins 200 Backstroke National Title
   • Wolford won his first-career national championship on March 22, winning the 200 backstroke in 1:44.15
   • It marked the second-straight year a WashU swimmer has won the event
   • He became the 27^th student-athlete to win an individual national title in department history
      
6. Bears Win Four UAA Championships
   • Women's Soccer secured the first UAA title of the year on Nov. 3 with a 2-0 win over Rochester. They finished the UAA slate with a 6-0-1 record.
   • Women's Indoor Track and Field won its sixth-straight UAA crown on March 2, racking up 181 points.
   • Women's Outdoor Track and Field won its eighth-straight UAA title on April 27, posting 222 points
   • Softball won its first UAA title since 2017 on May 9 with a 4-2 win over Emory, earning the UAA's automatic bid. The Bears finished the UAA season with a 17-1 record.
      
7. 15 WashU Teams Reached the Postseason
   • Five teams reached the Final Four
   • The Bears have reached the postseason a total of 293 times across all sports in department history
      
8. Eleanor Archer and Caitlin Bui Win the ITA Cup Doubles National Championship
   • The pair is the first in program history to win a doubles national championship at the ITA Cup, formerly known as the Small College Nationals.
   • Archer and Bui beat Emory's Dakota Fordham and Emily Kantrovitz 7-6 (7), 6-3 in the final to earn the title.
      
9. Sydney Kuo Becomes 4x UAA Player of the Year and First Team All-American
   • Kuo is the only player in UAA history to win UAA Player of the Year more than twice.
   • She is just the second player in WashU history to earn All-America status four times
      
10. Multiple Teams Earn Coaching Staff of the Year
    • Women's Soccer
      • The Bears' coaching staff of Head Coach Jim Conlon and assistant coaches Brandon Santel and Amanda Kesler earned United Soccer Coaches National Coaching Staff of the Year
      • The staff also earned United Soccer Coaches Regional Coaching Staff of the Year and UAA Coaching Staff of the Year
    • Women's Indoor Track and Field
      • The coaching staff of Head Coach Jeff Stiles, associate head coach Ray Williams and assistant coaches Stephen Fleagle, Gordon Reiter, Lane Lohr, Kyle Laker, Richard Lincoff and Konstadina Spanoudakis earned UAA Coaching Staff of the Year after winning its sixth-straight UAA title
    • Men's Indoor Track and Field
      • Assistant Coach Lane Lohr was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year
    • Women's Outdoor Track and Field
      • The coaching staff of Head Coach Jeff Stiles, associate head coach Ray Williams and assistant coaches Stephen Fleagle, Gordon Reiter, Lane Lohr, Kyle Laker, Richard Lincoff and Konstadina Spanoudakis earned UAA Coaching Staff of the Year after winning its eighth-straight UAA title
      • Head coach Jeff Stiles went on to earn USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year
    • Men's Outdoor Track and Field
      • Assistant coach Lane Lohr was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year
    • Softball
      • The Bears' coaching staff of Head Coach Casey Cromwell and assistant coaches Melissa "Skeeter" Gentile, Natasha Ramakrishnan, and Cora Bassett were named UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. This marks the 10th time in program history the Bears have earned this honor and the second year in a row.
    • Women's Tennis
      • Head Coach Paige Madara and assistant coach Erin Swaller were named the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. It marks the sixth time in program history that the Bears' coaching staff has earned the award and the first time since 2005.
    • Golf
      • Head coach Dave Reinhardt was named WGCA Central Region Coach of the Year

Honorable Mentions

• Women's Track and Field earns a pair of national runner-up finishes
  • Indoor
  • Outdoor
• Baseball alums Caleb Durbin and Ryan Loutos both get called up to the show
  • Durbin – Milwaukee Brewers
  • Loutos – Los Angeles Dodgers
• Two receive NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships
  • Alex McCormick '24 – men's swimming and diving
  • Gaelen Clayton '25 – women' soccer

Thank you for a wonderful year and we can't wait to see you all in 2025-26!