Colonials' competition was in full swing over the weekend as several fall sports teams concluded their seasons, while others continued to fight for conference championship bids.
Women's Swimming
-GW defeated Drexel, 135-114, on Saturday afternoon at the Smith Center Pool for its first dual meet victory of the season.
-The Colonials swept the top three spots in three separate events and claimed top honors in eight of 14 total events.
-Junior Caroline Myers claimed first place in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:33.26 and was followed by freshman Riley LeBlanc, who finished second in 10:41.08.
-The Colonials took home the top three spots in the 100-yard breaststroke, as freshman Lauren Steagall led the trio in a time of 1:07.89, followed by classmate Mara Debnekoff in 1:10.55 and junior Rachel Johnson in 1:10.90.
Men's Swimming
-GW dropped a close 136-124 decision to Drexel on Saturday afternoon at the Smith Center Pool.
-Senior Luke Quimby led the Colonials with top finishes in the 50-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relay while placing third in the 100 free and fourth in the 200 free.
-Senior Stephen Nelson and junior Spencer Neff finished second and third, respectively, in the 1,000-yard freestyle.
-GW placed first, second and fourth in the 200 free with senior Niklas Glensek leading the way with a time of 1:43.44, followed closely by freshman Jordan Sharples in 1:43.91 and Quimby in fourth in 1:45.57.
Men's Water Polo
-GW finished its season by placing sixth at the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Division Championship.
-The Colonials opened the tournament on Friday evening with a heartbreaking 12-13 loss with 1:16 remaining in the second sudden-death period against No. 17 Bucknell.
-GW enjoyed victories over Washington & Jefferson and Gannon on the second day of competition.
-Freshman Bogdan Petkovic led the Colonials to a 15-11 win over Washington & Jefferson with five goals, five steals and two field blocks.
-Junior Daniel Tyner paced GW's 18-11 victory over Gannon with four goals, while freshman goalkeeper Connor Dillon made 10 saves.
-The Colonials finished their weekend of play with another overtime loss, this time to third-seeded Johns Hopkins by a score of 16-15.
-Senior goalkeeper Cameron Illes posted 15 saves in the final game of his career, leaving him with a school-record 1,061 saves.
Sailing
-GW's newest varsity sport earned an eighth-place finish out of 10 teams over the weekend at the SAISA/MAISA Regatta in Charleston, S.C.
-B Division duo of junior Erin McCormack and sophomore Alex Hitchcock posted eight top-five showings, highlighted by a first-place finish on Saturday en route to seventh place in their division.
-Juniors Evan Boliakis and Sarah McCormack placed eighth overall in the A Division and posted their weekend-best second-place effort on Saturday.
-The Colonials will finish up their first semester of varsity action next weekend at regattas in St. Mary's City, Md., and Newport News, Va.
Men's Soccer
-The Colonials concluded their 2012 season on Saturday evening with a 2-1 loss at No. 21 Charlotte.
-Senior Seth Rudolph scored GW's lone goal in the last game of his career, leaving him in seventh place on GW's all-time list with 29 goals. Rudolph also finishes his career with 63 total points, good for 11th all-time at GW.
-The A-10 rival 49ers scored the decisive goal with just 5:39 remaining in regulation.
Men's & Women's Squash
-Both GW squash squads took home dominant 9-0 victories over Georgetown in their season openers on Friday evening.
-On the women's side, freshmen Anna Gabriela Porras, Emily Levyn, Alexa Tzarnas and Sarah Allen all enjoyed straight-set victories in their collegiate debuts.
-For the men, seniors Islam El-Fiky and Omar Sobhy and freshmen James Reiss, Reid Breck and Browning Platt all won in straight sets.
Volleyball
-GW swept visiting Fordham, 3-0, Friday night at the Charles E. Smith Center with set scores of 25-23, 25-17, 25-20.
-Senior Lauren Whyte led the charge with a match-high 17 kills, while the defense totaled 10.0 team blocks.
-The Colonials suffered a close 3-2 loss to A-10 rival Rhode Island on Sunday in the final home match of the season.
-Candace Silva-Martin recorded a career-high 36 digs to put her in sole possession of the Atlantic 10's all-time record with 2,105 digs.
-Whyte posted the 39th double-double of her career with 19 kills and 22 digs, while freshman Margarethe Skjelbred led all players with five blocks.
The GW women's rowing team concluded its fall schedule at Saturday's Head of the Occoquan on the Occoquan River in Woodbridge, Va.
The Colonials entered four boats across two races in Saturday's event with each performing well in their final fall tune-up before moving indoors for the winter months.
GW's Varsity 8 and JV 8 competed in the Collegiate Women's 8+ event, with the Varsity crew taking third place overall out of 34 boats.
The Colonials finished in 17:11.12, trailing only winner Georgetown (17:04.93) and runner-up Navy (17:07.37) while finishing 14 seconds ahead of the fourth-place Navy B boat. The JV 8 took 19th place in 18:54.73.
"It was great to get back on the water after Hurricane Sandy," said Head Coach Eric Carcich. "We finished in a tight pack of high-quality boats in the top end of the Collegiate Eights event. It was a good performance by our Varsity boat, but we have areas to improve upon. Overall, I was happy with our performance."
Both of GW's Freshmen boats finished in the top six of the 26-boat Collegiate Novice 8+ field. The Freshman 8 finished in third place overall out of 26 crews in 18:49.24, followed by the Freshman 2F boat in sixth place (20:09.86).
"I was also very pleased with the freshmen crews," said Coach Carcich. "It was a great opportunity to race as a class one last time before heading inside for the winter. We are looking forward to getting back to work and getting faster these next few months."
The Colonials open the 2013 season at the Murphy Cup Regatta in Philadelphia, Pa., on March 23.
Men's swimming senior Stephan Franke was named GW's Community Service Athlete of the Month for October earlier this week.
The Community Service Athlete of the Month award, a distinction which started this year, goes to the student-athlete who leads by example and who most impacts the GW and Washington community through service.
"Stephan is a leader and he has done a great job of keeping the team involved in service efforts," said head coach Dan Rhinehart. "It is very important to give back, and participating in community service is a big part of what GW Athletics stands for."
A co-captain of the men's swimming team, Franke has led the Colonials' in several community service efforts so far this year and the team now leads the Department of Athletics in per capita community service hours completed.
"The Community Service Athlete of the Month award is an individual honor, but this truly is an award that goes to our entire team," Franke said. "Our team has worked diligently to form a relationship with the Washington, D.C., community and we have had a great time doing so."
Franke has been instrumental in organizing the squad's service projects, which include volunteering at Taste of DC, Walk to Defeat ALS, Trick or Treat for Service, and Students Against Sexual Assault. In addition to his efforts with his teammates, Franke also volunteers as a mentor at Francis Stevens Middle School as part of GW's partnership with College for Every Student.
"As a team our goal is to give back to the local community as much as possible," said Franke. "We have a great group of senior leaders who actively contribute and lead by example, and we are all enjoying the process."
Though delayed by Sandy, here's our weekly look at the Colonials in competition over the past weekend:
Women's Soccer
-GW dropped a close 1-0 match to A-10 newcomer Butler on Friday afternoon in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
-The Colonials finished their season with a 4-1 victory over Saint Louis on Senior Day on Sunday, beating the Billikens for the first time ever in the six meetings between the programs.
-Sophomore Nicole Belfonti scored her first career goal in the season finale.
-Senior Molly Bruh racked up three points on Sunday with a goal and an assist en route to Colonial of the Week honors.
-Prior to the match against the Billikens, the Colonials honored Bruh, Adriana Moya, Samie Cloutier and Kayley Sullivan in a Senior Day ceremony.
Men's Soccer
-Butler proved too much for GW on Friday, as the Colonials dropped the match, 4-0, in Indianapolis.
-Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Jean-Pierre van der Merwe made four stops on the day.
-GW suffered a 5-0 loss to No. 20 Saint Louis on Sunday.
-Junior Tyler Ranalli took four of GW's five shots in the match.
Men's Swimming
-The Colonials dropped their first dual meet of the season to UMBC, 148-99, on Saturday at the Smith Center Pool.
-Freshman Oliver Keegan placed first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 52.09, while senior Alex Etz finished second with a time of 54.92.
-Senior Phillip Graeter, junior Jake Mortensen and sophomore Garrett Cottingham took the top three spots in the 200-yard individual medley.
-GW earned the top spot in the 400-yard freestyle relay with the team of Graeter, Keegan, senior Stephen Nelson and freshman Jordan Sharples.
Women's Swimming
-GW fell to UMBC, 138-119, in its opening dual meet of the season on Saturday at the Smith Center Pool.
-Junior Caroline Myers led the Colonials with four first-place finishes in the 200-, 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle and the 400-yard freestyle relay.
-Sophomore Janica Lee won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:27.48.
-Lee, freshman Hannah Schaefer and junior Emily Kane took the top spots in the 200-yard individual medley.
-GW finished out the day with a first-place showing by the junior team of Sloan and Sydney Saunders, Melissa Fernandez and Caroline Myers in the 400-free relay.
Volleyball
-The Colonials suffered a 3-0 loss to No. 15 Dayton on Friday night on the Flyers' home court.
-GW was not able to rally back on Saturday, as the Buff and Blue lost to Xavier, 3-2.
-Senior Lauren Whyte led GW with 17 kills and six digs, while sophomore Kelsey Newman recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs against the Musketeers.
-Senior Candace Silva-Martin posted a team-high 20 digs to place her just 29 away from becoming the A-10's all-time career leader.
Men's Water Polo
-GW concluded regular-season play with a 12-7 loss to No. 14 Navy on Saturday.
-Sophomore Ridvan Pehlivan paced the offense with a trio of goals.
-Freshman Bogdan Petkovic recorded a goal, seven steals and two field blocks in the match.
Cross Country
-GW's women's team finished in 10th place at the Atlantic 10 Championships at Belmont Plateau in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.
-Senior Heather Stevens earned All-Conference honros with a 15th-place finish out of 140 runners.
-The men's team finished in 13th place.
Golf
-GW golf wrapped up the 2012 fall season with a 20th-place finish at the Wendy's Kiawah Classic in South Carolina with an overall team score of 75-over par 927.
-Sophomore Jack Persons shot a combined score of 11-over to tie for 28th place.
Sailing
-GW placed 15th in the weekend's War Memorial Regatta, the Colonials' first MAISA Fall Coed Championship as a varsity program.
-The sailors narrowly missed qualifying for the Atlantic Coast Dinghy Tournament as teams placing eight through 14 received bids.
Two days following the close of the 2012 season for the George Washington women's soccer team, senior Samie Cloutier was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team by the website College Sports Madness on Tuesday.
A four-year starter for the Colonials, Cloutier was a Secont Team All-Conference selection following the 2011 season and was named to the A-10 Preseason All-Rookie team in 2009.
A defender responsible for patrolling the Colonials' back line, Cloutier scored her first collegiate goal this season on Oct. 6 against Charlotte. Over her career, the Pleasanton, Calif., native helped GW post 16 shutouts, including six during her rookie campaign.
The Colonials wrapped the season with an overall record of 5-12-1 and a 1-8-0 mark in the A-10. Click here for a full list of College Sports Madness All-Conference honorees.
The GW men's and women's rowing
teams were back in action this past weekend at the Princeton Chase on
The men's team had two boats each compete in the Heavyweight 8+, Heavyweight 4+ and the Freshman 8+. Results are listed below. All races were three miles in distance.
Men's Varsity Heavyweight 8+
George Washington A - 13th of 49 -12:57
George Washington B - 30th of 49 -14:08
Men's Varsity Heavyweight 4+
George Washington A - 26th of 47 - 14:45
George Washington B - 42nd of 47 -15:15
Men's Freshman 8+
George Washington A - 10th of 33 - 13:32
George Washington B - 30th of 33 - 15:24
"Solid performance all-around
today," said head coach Mark Davis. "We did much better than we did at this
event last year and we also rowed a lot better than last week in
The Colonials will conclude their fall schedule at the Rutgers Challenge on November 4.
The GW women rowing team was also
in action on
GW's Varsity boat rowed the two-mile course in 14:55, about one minute behind the winning crew from Cornell. The Colonials' second boat finished in 16:27.
"Our Varsity 8 had its best performance of the fall, which I am very happy about," said Head Coach Eric Carcich. "It was good to see some Atlantic 10 crews in the field because it gives us a good sense of where we stand in the conference. The JV boat had a little collision and struggled because of that, but the main goal of the weekend was to get both crews out there and get some work in against some good competition."
The GW women's team will conclude its fall schedule at the Head of the Occoquan on November 3.
In line with the university's initiative of community service, all of GW's 23 varsity teams commit time to give back to the district. On October 13th, the GW Gymnastics team spent much of its day assisting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's 'Light The Night' event in Washington, D.C.
'Light The Night' is a series of fundraising walks of varying length held across the country. The event gets its name from the way that its volunteers illuminate the night sky by distributing glowing balloons to participants who raise $100 or more for the cause. The walks are held each fall and welcome individual, group, and corporate supporters. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society uses funds raised to help fuel its support and research efforts for those battling cancer.
'Light The Night' has become an annual event for GW's gymnastics team.
"We have participated in this event the last four years, and I believe the team participated in years before as well," said senior Stephanie Stoicovy. "They recognize our name and always welcome us back when we ask if we can volunteer."
The team devoted their time to the children present at the event by operating the Kid Zone. This duty included assisting and supervising activities such as Dance Dance Revolution, spin art and bracelet making, and many other games. The Colonials enjoyed working with the children and look forward to continuing their annual participation in 'Light The Night.'
"It felt great to give back to our community right here in D.C.," said Stoicovy. "It was very nice to see the smiles we helped put on the children's faces! Everyone should make time to give back to the community and help others; as our volunteer shirts said, 'I walk because someone's life depends on it.'"
Click Here to view more photos from gymnastics' 'Light the Night' experience
Here's how the Colonials fared over a busy weekend of fall competition,
Men's Soccer
-Sophomore goalkeeper Luke Farrell recorded his first career shutout on Friday as GW defeated A-10 foe Rhode Island by a score of 2-0.
-Freshman Glen Sousa's 40-yard free kick found its way into the back of the net for his first collegiate goal and the Colonials' first goal of the match against the Rams.
-Senior Seth Rudolph provided the insurance goal for his 28th career goal, moving him into a tie for seventh-place all-time at GW.
-Seniors Zach Abaie, Alejandro Almodovar, Daniel Ripperger-Suhler, and Seth Rudolph were honored in a Senior Day ceremony prior to Sunday's 3-0 loss to UMass.
Women's Soccer
-GW lost a close 1-0 match on Friday to A-10 rival URI.
-The Colonials dropped the final road match of the regular season to UMASS by a score of 4-0 on Sunday afternoon.
-GW recorded 9 shots on the weekend.
-The team returns home next weekend for the final games of the regular season, taking on A-10 newcomer Butler for the first time ever on Friday and facing Saint Louis on Sunday.
-Seniors Molly Bruh, Samie Cloutier, Moya, Clare Roche, and Kayley Sullivan will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony prior to Sunday's match against SLU.
Volleyball
-Senior Candace Silva-Martin became the fourth player in Atlantic 10 history to reach 2,000 career digs in Friday's 3-0 loss at VCU.
-The Colonials posted a season-high 15.0 team blocks in Saturday's 3-1 defeat of Charlotte with three different players recording at least six blocks.
-GW mirrored a strong defensive performance with eight service aces in the win over the 49ers.
-Senior Lauren Whyte led the squad with her 38th career double-double, notching 15 kills and 11 digs while recording a match-high 16.5 points.
Men's Tennis
-GW completed the opening three days of the USTA/ITA Atlantic Regional Championship over the weekend at the University of Virginia.
-Junior Nikita Fomin received a first-round singles bye and defeated two opponents before dropping his round of 16 match to the tournament's No. 4 seed and No. 52 nationally ranked Alexis Huegas of VCU.
-Junior Ulrik Tomsen defeated two main draw foes before falling to the No. 1 seed and the nation's No. 2 ranked player Jarmere Jenkins of Virginia.
-In doubles action, the duo of Fomin and freshman Danil Zelenkov won four straight matches, including an upset of the tournament's No. 3 seed and 28th-ranked doubles team in the country, to advance to the semifinals and will face the No. 47 ranked doubles pair UVA's Justin Shane and Julen Uriguen on Monday afternoon.
Women's Tennis
-The Colonials competed in the USTA/ITA Atlantic Regional hosted by Virginia over the weekend to conclude fall play.
-Freshman Lana Robins won two qualifying matches as well as Round 1 of the singles main draw before falling to the tournament's No. 1 seed and the nation's No. 52 ranked Petra Januskova on Sunday.
-The doubles pair of Robins and senior Mimi Hamling advanced to the round of eight but were stopped by Virginia's Maci Epstein and Erin Vierra.
Men's Water Polo
-Freshman goalkeeper Connor Dillon recorded a career-high nine saves in his first collegiate start in GW's 10-6 victory over Iona on Saturday.
-GW dropped the second match of the day to No. 17 ranked Princeton by a score of 13-6.
-Freshman Bogdan Petkovic led the Colonials with three goals in the match against the nationally ranked Tigers.
-The Colonials finish regular-season play against Navy on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Annapolis, Md.
Sailing
-GW placed 11th out of 20 teams in this weekend's Kings Point Dinghy Open, a tune-up for next weekend's War Memorial MAISA Fall Coed Championship.
-Three Colonials sailed in the A Division and took home a trio of top-five finishes under senior skipper Ian Conners.
-Conners and seniors Skye Kussmann and Rebecca Engel put forth a 10th place effort overall in the A Division.
-Freshman skipper Jay Spector combined with classmate Henry Young and senior Richard Sant to capture 15th place in the B Division.
-Spector and Young highlighted their weekend with a third-place showing in Race #2.
Golf
-GW currently holds 15th place in a field of 18 through Round 1 of the three-day 33rd annual Old Dominion/Outer Banks Collegiate Invitational at the par-72, 6,535-yard Kilmarlic Golf Club in Powells Point, N.C.
-Freshman Michael Helton leads the Colonials with a 3-over 75 performance to tie him in 25th place.
-Sophomore Jack Persons is tied for 32nd just one stroke behind Helton with a 4-over 76.
-Round 2 play resumes on Monday.
Earlier
this week, George Washington's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC)
revealed Adopt-A-Team, a new community service initiative pairing
varsity sports with GW's Greek Life. The announcement was made by both
SAAC members and members of the Greek Life community at Monday evening's
SAAC meeting, and student-athletes are already looking forward to
working on future service projects with members of GW's fraternities and
sororities.
The partnership was established in conjunction with the Athletic Department's desire to increase the involvement of student-athletes within the community while facilitating the interaction between student-athletes and the rest of the student body. Ten fraternities and sororities are paired with all 23 of GW's varsity sports and aim to come together for both one-time philanthropic events as well as long-term service projects.
Last year, Greek Life completed 60,000 hours of community service and looks to increase service hours as a result of the new partnership.
"By adding over 450 athletes that are committed to doing service this year, the Center for Student Engagement and GW Athletics believe this partnership will achieve more service hours," said Joey Maman, Greek Life Residence Director. "We're very excited to see the positive outcome of this partnership."
In addition to boosting community involvement, student-athletes hope that the partnership will help build relationships between student-athletes and the rest of the student body.
"One of the big goals with SAAC this year was to work with the Student Association to bridge the gap between student-athletes and non-student-athletes," said SAAC president Alex Dadds, a senior on the men's cross country team. "The Adopt-A-Team program is just one way we are working to bridge that gap. We know that our fans are one of the biggest drivers for our teams' success, so by participating in community service activities with the rest of the student body, student-athletes have the opportunity to be seen as more than just athletes."
The student-athletes look forward to achieving their community service goals hand-in-hand with members of Greek Life throughout the duration of the year.
"We cannot stress how excited we are with our new partnership with Greek Life," said Stephan Franke, a senior swimmer and SAAC general body member. "Through our new partnership, GW Athletics will strengthen both our bond with GW students and our fellow Washingtonians."
The partnership was established in conjunction with the Athletic Department's desire to increase the involvement of student-athletes within the community while facilitating the interaction between student-athletes and the rest of the student body. Ten fraternities and sororities are paired with all 23 of GW's varsity sports and aim to come together for both one-time philanthropic events as well as long-term service projects.
Last year, Greek Life completed 60,000 hours of community service and looks to increase service hours as a result of the new partnership.
"By adding over 450 athletes that are committed to doing service this year, the Center for Student Engagement and GW Athletics believe this partnership will achieve more service hours," said Joey Maman, Greek Life Residence Director. "We're very excited to see the positive outcome of this partnership."
In addition to boosting community involvement, student-athletes hope that the partnership will help build relationships between student-athletes and the rest of the student body.
"One of the big goals with SAAC this year was to work with the Student Association to bridge the gap between student-athletes and non-student-athletes," said SAAC president Alex Dadds, a senior on the men's cross country team. "The Adopt-A-Team program is just one way we are working to bridge that gap. We know that our fans are one of the biggest drivers for our teams' success, so by participating in community service activities with the rest of the student body, student-athletes have the opportunity to be seen as more than just athletes."
The student-athletes look forward to achieving their community service goals hand-in-hand with members of Greek Life throughout the duration of the year.
"We cannot stress how excited we are with our new partnership with Greek Life," said Stephan Franke, a senior swimmer and SAAC general body member. "Through our new partnership, GW Athletics will strengthen both our bond with GW students and our fellow Washingtonians."
Weekends as a George Washington student-athlete are often full of games, practices or workouts. Last Saturday, the GW women's water polo team got their workout in by volunteering with Kids Enjoying Exercise Now (KEEN).
KEEN is a volunteer-led non-profit organization that provides one-to-one recreational opportunities for children and young adults with developmental and physical disabilities at no cost to their families and caregivers. KEEN's mission is to foster the self-esteem, confidence, skills and talents of its athletes through non-competitive activities, allowing young people facing even the most significant challenges to meet their individual goals.
"We wanted to do something sports-related (for community service), and KEEN has a really cool program where we got to make a difference and have fun at the same time," said senior Jessie Hurd, who found the organization and arranged for the team to volunteer.
There are KEEN programs in many sports, including KEEN Tennis, KEEN Swim, KEEN Bowling and KEEN Fit. Since there is no KEEN water polo, the GW women's water polo team volunteered with another sport they know something about - KEEN Swim.
The squad arrived at Georgetown Preparatory School in Rockville, Md., for a quick training session. Each GW student-athlete was partnered with a KEEN athlete after receiving profiles of the KEEN athletes' age, disability and swimming ability to prepare each volunteer to meet her partner.
"We were really prepared for the type of behavior to expect from the athletes," said sophomore Jessie Sinkula. "The leaders of KEEN Swim made it really easy to feel comfortable interacting with the athletes, especially for the people on the team who had never interacted with a disabled child before. It was a good experience."
The Colonials met their athletes and played with them in the pool for 50 minutes, getting the KEEN athletes comfortable in the water, teaching them how to blow bubbles and playing games.
"As an athlete, I was absolutely moved by the pure joy these kids got from just being in the water, and it helped reinvigorate my own love for water polo," said freshman Caroline Sandri. "Working with my KEEN athlete, an adult with autism, and sharing a tearful goodbye hug at the end is a memory I will never forget."
KEEN Swim takes place once a month, and the team is planning to return to volunteer again in November.
KEEN is headquartered in D.C. with other locations nationwide. KEEN Greater DC now operates 23 programs throughout the area.
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