Now that spring sports are starting to kick into action and with basketball still in full force, GW athletics is in a whirlwind. As I like to do every Monday, here is a roundup of what happened over the weekend.
Both the men’s and women’s swimming teams wrapped up their seasons at the Atlantic 10 Championships in Buffalo. Both squads finished in ninth place of nine teams but junior David Zenk was named the meet’s most outstanding performer on the men’s side after winning the 200-yard backstroke and the 200- and 400-yard backstroke. It is the second time in three years that Zenk was honored with the title.
Women’s water polo dropped three of four matches at the Terrapin Invitational at Maryland in College Park. The Colonials lost to Wagner, 12-11 in overtime, and St. Francis (N.Y.) 14-5 Saturday afternoon. They then defeated Villanova 12-3 Sunday afternoon before falling to Marist 9-5. GW (3-6) next travels to Lewisburg, Penn., for the ECAC championships. The opponent has yet to be decided.
The baseball team opened it season with three wins at the Courtyard by Marriott Classic in Spartanburg, S.C. The Colonials defeated NJIT, 12-5, Tennessee-Martin, 10-6, and USC Update, 6-5. The three victories mark the first team the program has begun its season 3-0 since 1993. GW hosts Yale in a three-game series this weekend in Arlington.
And now for some women’s basketball news. The Colonials moved up two spots in the AP poll to No. 15. The Coaches’ poll doesn’t come out until tomorrow. Also, I failed to mention in the blog post about the women’s game at Saint Joe’s yesterday that Indiana Fever head coach Lin Dunn was there. She sat quietly at the back of the press conference and didn’t ask any questions until coach Joe McKeown started talking about senior Kim Beck and her value to his team. I think it’s safe to say that Dunn, who knows McKeown from her days as the head coach at Purdue, was there checking on Beck. The guard didn’t have an outstanding day, scoring only nine points and turning the ball over more than usual but she did make some smart decisions down the stretch. McKeown, as he does anyway in most press conferences, spoke very highly of Beck and praised her court presence even when she isn’t scoring. Dunn then left the press conference with McKeown before the Saint Joe’s contingency came in to talk.