ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis women's athletic teams have a rich history since beginning competition in 1909, winning a combined 24 of the Bears' 28 national titles. To celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day, here's a look back on some history of our women's teams.
 
National Championships: 24
Individual National Championships: 26
Final Four Appearances: 65
Conference Championships: 134
National Players of the Year: 35
Academic All-Americans: 123
All-Americans: 1,096
Elite Scholar-Athlete Award Winners: 10
NCAA Woman of the Year Award Winners: 2
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Winners: 12

National Championships:

• Volleyball (10)

  

  • 1989: This championship was particularly special because it was not only the first female sport to win a national title, but the first sport at WashU to ever capture the ultimate crown. The team finished the year with a 39-7 record. Although the Bears lost the first round of the NCAA Tournament, they came back to win three-straight and eventually advanced the Final Four with a sweep of the College of St. Benedict. WashU hosted the Final Four that year, defeating Juniata and Ohio Northern en route to the title. Head Coach Teri Clemens became the first woman to coach a national champion in Division III volleyball since the tournament began in 1981.
     
  • 1991: Down 2-1 in the match to six-time championship UC San Diego, the Bears overcame a deficit in the fourth set to win the program's second title in front of a record-breaking 3,423 fans in the Field House. UC San Diego came into the match having not lost a match since October of 1990, which was at the hands of the Bears. The match was a two-and-a-half-hour marathon, setting a record 85 kills and 79 assists along the way.
     
  • 1992: WashU finished the season with a perfect 40-0 season to become the first undefeated Division III champions. The Bears amassed a 120-6 set record in the season for a 95 percent success rate. With the win, the Bears extended their overall winning streak to 45, the streak against Division III opponents to 64 and the streak inside the Field House to 40 games. Senior Lisa Becker led the Bears and was named NCAA Division III Co-Player of the Year
     
  • 1993: The Bears won its third-straight championship and fourth in five years, sweeping Juniata in the title match. Seven weeks prior to the final, Juniata put a stop to WashU's 59-game winning streak on the same court. Junior Amy Albers was named the NCAA Division III Player of the Year and had 25 kills and five blocks in the match.
     
  • 1994: It was the first four-peat in women's volleyball history as the Bears defeated UW-Oshkosh to win its fourth-straight title and fifth in six years. Senior Amy Albers was a repeat selection for NCAA Division III Player of the Year.
     
  • 1995: With the Bears' fifth-straight national title, they eclipsed the NCAA volleyball record for consecutive titles, previously shared with the 1981-84 UCLA men's team. The Bears defeated Cal. Lutheran in a five-set thriller. In the final set, the teams split the first 10 points before the Bears racked up four of the next five points and eventually closed it out with a kill from NCAA Division III Player of the Year Shelley Swan. It marked the third year in a row that the Bears had the national player of the year on their squad.
     
  • 1996: The Bears won their sixth-straight national title and seventh in eight years, defeated Juniata in a three-set match. WashU stretched its postseason winning streak to 28 matches with the 90-minute sweep of the Eagles.
     
  • 2003: WashU notched its eighth national championship in program history, capturing its first crown in seven years and setting a new Division III record for national titles. The Bears swept NYU in the final, giving head coach Rich Luenemann his first national title. WashU finished 38-3 on the year and Cindy McPeak was named the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team.
     
  • 2007: The Bears captured their ninth program title to extend their own NCAA record, defeating UW-Whitewater in five sets. WashU closed out the season on a six-match winning streak, with its final loss coming against Emory in the UAA Championship. Junior Alli Alberts was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player.
     
  • 2009: WashU won the program's 10^th national title, once against extended its own NCAA record. The Bears beat top-seeded Juniata in four sets and sophomore Lauren Budde was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player. She led the Bears with 15 kills and five blocks in the win over Juniata and had 21 digs.
     
• Women's Basketball (5)
  • 1998: The Bears won the program's first-ever basketball national title, defeating the University of Southern Maine 77-69. It marked head coach Nancy Fahey's first-ever national title in three trips to the Final Four. The Bears finished the year with a 28-2 record, beating defending national champion NYU twice to win the UAA title. In the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, WashU beat Division's only unbeaten team remaining in Millikin. Sophomore Alia Fischer was named the UAA Player of the Year and went on to become the first non-senior to be named the WBCA Division III Player of the Year.
     
  • 1999: WashU finished the season at a perfect 30-0 to become just the third team in Division III women's basketball history and the 19^th team ever across all divisions, to finish the season unbeaten. The Bears beat Scranton 74-65 in the semifinal and went on to beat the College of St. Benedict 74-65 in the final to win the program's second national title. Junior Alia Fischer became the only player to be named the WBCA Division III Player of the Year two years in a row
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  • 2000: The Bears became the first team in NCAA Division III women's basketball history to win three-straight national titles. They also became just the second team in NCAA basketball history across all divisions and inclusive of men and women, to post back-to-back undefeated national championship seasons. They joined the ranks of the UCLA men's team in the early 1970s. WashU had a dominant season, winning by an average of 28.2 points per game and no team was closer than 11 points at the buzzer. Senior Alia Fischer became the first player to earn WBCA Division III Player of the Year three seasons in a row.
     
  • 2001: WashU began its season with 13-straight wins, extending its winning streak to 81 games After the streak ended, the Bears bounced back to blow through the first round of the NCAA Tournament. WashU went on to beat St. Thomas in the second round and Wartburg in the sectional championship. The Bears defeated Emmanuel College in the semifinal on the way to beating Messiah 67-45 in the title game. Tasha Rodgers was named WBCA Division III Player of the Year.
     
  • 2010: After nine years, the Bears captured the program's fifth national title with a 65-59 win over Hope College. The five national titles set a new NCAA Division III record, which still holds today. Graduate student Jaimie McFarlin was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player after scoring 14 points and grabbing 15 boards in the title game. WashU finished 29-2 on the season and captured its 19^th UAA title in the process. Head coach Nancy Fahey earned DIII News and D3hoops.com National Coach of the Year.
     
• Women's Cross Country (2)
  • 2011: After finishing as the national runner-up the season prior, the Bears captured the program's first-ever national title, finishing 41 points ahead of defending national champion Middlebury. Senior Erica Jackey led the Bears in fourth, the highest finish for an individual runner in program history. The runners – Lucy Cheadle, Sarah Fisher and Molly Wawrzyniak – earned All-America honors. Senior Elizabeth Phillips finished 40^th and earned the Elite 89 Award (now Elite 90), for the athlete at the finals site with the highest grade-point average.
     
  • 2018: WashU won the program's second title by a single point, narrowly edging back-to-back defending national champion Johns Hopkins in the process. Junior Paige Lawler became the program's first-ever individual national champion, crossing the finish line in 20:55.0, more than three seconds ahead of the runner up. Graduate student Aly Wayne was also in the Top 10, earning a seventh-place finish.
     
• Women's Soccer (2)
  • 2016: The Bears won their first program national title in a thriller, beating Messiah 5-4 in penalty kicks after finishing in a 1-1 draw after 110 minutes. WashU scored all five penalty kicks from sophomore Caroline Dempsey, junior Kelly Von Zup, sophomore Jessica Kovach, junior Gillian Myers and junior Megan Wolf. Senior goalkeeper Lizzy Crist was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Defensive Player for the second-straight season. Senior Katie Chandler was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Offensive Player while senior Megan Nicklay and first-year Taylor Cohen earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
     
  • 2024: After ranking No. 1 in the polls for the entire season, the Bears earned the program's second national title in dominating fashion, beating William Smith 3-0 in the title game after beating Christopher Newport 3-0 in the national semifinal. The Bears let up just one goal in the postseason and scored 15. In total, WashU let up just seven goals throughout the season. WashU's 2024 squad set several new program records including single-season wins (23), single-season winning percentage (.960), unbeaten streak with ties (25), and shutouts (18). It marked the first time in program history that the Bears finished without a loss. First-year Olivia Clemons was named the All-Tournament Offensive Player while graduate students Sidney Conner and Ally Hackett as well as junior Grace Ehlert were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
     
  • 2025: The Bears won their second-straight national title on Dec. 6, 2025 with a 2-1 win over UAA foe No. 2 Emory after advancing passed UAA foe Chicago 10-9 on penalty kicks in the national semifinal. Sophomore Olivia Clemons was named NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Offensive Player for the second year in a row, and a few weeks later was named United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year. Clemons was named UAA Offensive Player of the Year for the second-straight year and earned First Team All-America honors. Senior Grace Ehlert picked up Third Team All-America honors and junior Sophie Viscovich was named Fourth Team All-America. As a team, WashU scored 84 goals and let up just nine. Bears' goalkeepers, led by

    

    junior Kassidy Lanthier, posted 15 shutouts.
     
• Women's Outdoor Track and Field (2)
  • 2017: WashU won the program's first-ever outdoor national championship, tallying 56 points, which was 29 more than second place. Rebecca Ridderhoff won the 400m hurdles individual title, which marked her second title as her 1,600 relay team won the outdoor title the previous season. The Bears were named the USTFCCCA Program of the Year while head coach Jeff Stiles was named the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Coach of the Year and Lane Lohr was named the NCAA Division III Outdoor National Assistant Coach of the Year.
     
  • 2024: The top-ranked Bears won the program's second national title, winning by 71 points. WashU was led by senior Emma Kelley, who won two individual titles (400m, 800m) and a 4x400 relay title along with teammates sophomore Kylie Spytek, graduate student Danielle Schultz and first-year Cate Christoper. The 4x400 relay win marked the first in outdoor track and field program history. For the second-straight year, the Bears were named USTFCCCA Program of the Year, which is given to the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year, based on the finishes at the NCAA Championships. Emma Kelley was named the USTFCCCA National Women's Track Athlete of the Year while head coach Jeff Stiles was named the USTFCCCA National Women's Coach of the Year and Gordon Reiter was named the USTFCCCA National Women's Assistant Coach of the Year.
     
• Women's Indoor Track and Field (1)
  • 2017: The Bears won the program's lone national title, scoring 44 points and edging out second place with 41.25 points. With the win, WashU became the first UAA team to win the national indoor title. Rebecca Ridderhoff led the Bears with four All-America finishes on the final day of competition, including a 4x400 relay runner-up finish. Daisy Ogede finished second in the 60m with a new school record and Annalise Wagner took third in the 800. Head coach Jeff Stiles was named the USTFCCCA Women's National Coach of the Year and Lane Lohr was honored as the USTFCCCA Women's Assistant Coach of the Year.
     
• Women's Tennis (1)

  

  • 2025: The Bears won the program's first-ever national title with a magical run. After winning the regional and heading back to the Elite 8, WashU defeated defending national champ No. 1 Chicago 4-3 in the national quarterfinal. They moved on to beat No. 9 Johns Hopkins 4-1 in the national semifinal and clinched the title with a 4-3 win over No. 3 Pomona-Pitzer in the championship match. First-year Caitlin Bui and sophomore Eleanor Archer were both named ITA All-Americans. Bui earned the honor for both doubles and singles and Archer earned it for doubles. Bui was named ITA National Rookie of the Year and junior Eliana Hanna was named ITA National Player to Watch.
     

In addition to team national championships, women are responsible for 26 of the 50 individual national titles, including 11 since 2023.
 
Women's teams have reached the Final Four or finished among the top four teams 65 times and won 134 University Athletic Association (UAA) titles. In total, women have reached the NCAA Tournament 163 of the 293 team appearances in history.
 
Of WashU's 20 Elite Scholar-Athlete Award winners – the award given out at the Finals site to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average – 10 of them are women, including women's soccer sophomore Regan Cannon, who won the award in the fall for the second-straight season.
 
Two women in WashU history have won the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, an award that honors graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement athletic excellence, service and leadership. In 2012, Elizabeth Phillips won the award for women's cross country/women's indoor and outdoor track and field. In 2017, women's soccer's Lizzy Crist earned the honor.
 
Continue supporting our women's teams:
Women's Cross Country
Women's Soccer
Volleyball
Women's Basketball
Women's Swimming and Diving
Softball
Women's Tennis
Women's Track and Field
Golf

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Elevating scholar-champions requires resources beyond the institutional budget. Through the W Club, generous alumni, parents, and friends provide unrestricted support that is essential to the extraordinary WashU student-athlete experience—and the ongoing growth and development of the department. Annual support for Athletics allows the Bears to consistently rise to national levels of competition and ensures that our student-athletes enjoy exceptional opportunities as they train, compete, and lead. To make a gift to the Annual Fund for Athletics, please visit our secure online giving form or contact the Athletics Advancement Office at athletics@wustl.edu.