St. Louis' Washington University has two shots in D-III

The Washington University men's and women's basketball programs have bonded at a level beyond most college programs. The teams work out alongside each other, travel together, sometimes even share the court for simultaneous practices on their suburban St. Louis campus.

The teams will share something else this weekend: a chance to win NCAA championships in the same season, something never achieved in Division III basketball. Only Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Centre (Ky.) have had both teams in the Final Four in the same season.

The Washington women, who won four consecutive titles from 1998 to 2001, face conference foe New York University in the semifinals Friday in Springfield, Mass. The Bears men, looking for their first crown, play Virginia Wesleyan in a semifinal showdown the same night in Salem, Va.

"This really is pretty neat," men's coach Mark Edwards says. "We've always been each other's biggest cheerleaders. Now we'll have to cheer long-distance."

Washington is a member of the University Athletic Association, one of the country's most geographically challenged and academically respected conferences. Members stretch from Chicago (University of Chicago) to Boston (Brandeis) to Atlanta (Emory). Basketball teams travel together by airplane and bus and play men-women doubleheaders Fridays and Sundays. ...

•	St. Louis' Washington University has two shots in D-III USA Today, Wednesday, March 14, 2007 Byline: Andy Gardiner, USA TODAY