With 21 varsity teams, there is always a game to see around Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon. Here is what you need to know about them:
Cross Country
Where and when they play: various courses in the area
Men’s Scoop: GW’s cross-country teams, while mostly unknown, put together some good showings at the Monmouth and Carnegie Mellon Invitationals last year.
Women’s Scoop: The women’s top showings came at Mount St. Mary’s and George Mason
Rowing
Where and when they play: Potomac River in the fall and spring.
Men’s Scoop: The men’s crew finished 13th out of 44 teams in the Princeton Chase but lost duels to Boston University, Georgetown and Virginia.
Women’s Scoop: Not the best of years for the women last year. They finished sixth out of nine teams at the Atlantic 10 Championship.
Tennis
Where and when they play: Mount Vernon Athletic Complex in the fall and spring.
Men’s record last year: 14-11
Men’s Scoop: The men won six matches in a row to start their spring season in 2008.
Women’s record last year: 8-11
Women’s Scoop: The women snapped a long losing streak in the middle of the year by winning three of their last four.
Golf
Where and when they play: many courses in the area and around the nation.
The Scoop: After last year’s lackluster results (ninth out of 12 teams in the A-10 Championships), GW’s golf team recruited Javier Ballesteros, the son of the legendary golfer, Seve Ballesteros.
Soccer
Where and when they play: Mount Vernon Athletic Complex in the fall.
Men’s record last year: 9-8-2
Men’s Scoop: The men’s soccer team has six freshmen this year, including Brice Carr, a former member of the Under-17 U.S. National Team and Gatorade’s reigning Washington, D.C. player of the year Yoni Berhanu.
Women’s record last year: 8-9-0
Women’s Scoop: Last year, the Colonials were streaky, winning or the losing the vast majority of their games in bunches.
Swimming and Diving
Where and when they play: Charles E. Smith Center in the winter.
Men’s Scoop: The men’s swimming team finished last out of nine teams in last year’s Atlantic 10 Championships, but rising senior David Zenk was named the “Men’s Most Outstanding Performer” for the second time in three years after winning the 200-yard backstroke and the 200- and 400-yard individual medleys.
Women’s Scoop: GW’s women’s swimming and diving team finished last out of 10 teams in last year’s A-10 Championships, but rising sophomore Paola Leor broke GW records in both the 200-yard IM (2:05.86) and 50-yard freestyle (24.02).
Water Polo
Where and when they play: Charles E. Smith Center in the winter.
Men’s record last year: 12-18
The Scoop: As usual with this team, it will need to win close games against national powerhouses in order to become a true force. Adding high school All-American Cray Rogers will help.
Women’s record last year: 7-19
The Scoop: Last year’s season ended about as badly as it can: with 11 straight losses, all but one by at least five points.
Basketball
Where and when they play: Charles E. Smith Center in the winter.
Men’s record last year: 9-17
Men’s Scoop: Last year’s tumultuous season broke a streak of three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the men’s basketball team. It will be interesting to see whether Karl Hobbs can right his team’s ship.
Women’s record last year: 27-7
Women’s Scoop: The women made the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year but will have seven new players and, perhaps most significantly, a new head coach after incumbent Joe McKeown took the same job at Northwestern University.
Squash
Where and when they play: Lerner Health and Wellness Center in the winter.
Men’s record last year: 9-7
Men’s Scoop: Finished the season ranked 26th in the nation.
Women’s record last year: 8-9
The Scoop: Upsetting nationally-ranked St. Lawrence Virginia was a highlight for the women last season.
Baseball
Where and when they play: Barcroft Park (Arlington, Va.) in the spring.
Last year’s record: 26-29
The Scoop: Spotty offense put the Colonials on downward spiral near the end of last season and killed their chances for the postseason.
Volleyball
Where and when they play: Charles E. Smith Center in the fall.
The Scoop: Last spring break, the volleyball team travelled to Italy and Slovenia to play against professional teams from the area. The time spent together may translate to wins on the court, especially because chemistry is so important in volleyball.
Lacrosse
Where and when they play: Mount Vernon Athletic Complex in the spring.
Last year’s record: 5-11
The Scoop: After a surprising 2007 season, the Colonials failed to take the next step under a new head coach. Only time will tell if the Colonials can get back to their winning way.
Gymnastics
Where and when they play: Charles E. Smith Center in the spring.
The Scoop: Senior Kristen Simpson and sophomore Leslie Delima were named First-Team East Atlantic Gymnastics League last year.
Softball
Where and when they play: Mount Vernon Athletic Complex in the spring.
Last year’s record: 12-27
The Scoop: The Colonials were 12-27 overall, but a respectable 8-10 in conference last season. Losing outfielder Chrysanthi Halkiotis to graduation will hurt the team’s offense, but rising sophomore Katie Terrazas could help pick up the slack.
