A lot of Colonial sports teams were in action this weekend. Here’s a look at how they performed:
Softball
GW was swept in action at the Gamecock Invitational this weekend, falling to Elon Saturday before dropping to South Carolina and Appalachian State Sunday. The team’s competition Friday was canceled due to rain and will not be made up.
The Colonials (0-7) held Elon scoreless for five consecutive innings after allowing four runs in the first two innings but couldn’t make up the deficit for a victory, falling 4-1. Senior pitcher Kara Clauss struck out three batters and allowed just six hits, all of which came in the first four innings. GW’s only run came from senior Lauren Wilson, who scored off a single from freshman Victoria Valos.
Opening play Saturday, junior Autumn Taylor hit a two-run home run that put GW in the lead through the fourth inning against South Carolina. But at the top of the fifth, the Gamecocks added three runs on the board to pull ahead, followed by a run in the sixth to cement their 4-2 victory. The Colonials next took the field against Appalachian State, when the Mountaineers opened the bottom of the first inning with five runs off of six hits and followed that up with three additional runs in the second. Taylor hit another two-run homer in the bottom of the second, but that would be GW’s only scores on the game, falling 8-2.
GW next hosts Drexel in a double-header Wednesday, with action slated to begin at 2 p.m.
Baseball
GW traveled to Cary, N.C., to face Army this weekend, opening play with two losses in a Saturday doubleheader but bouncing back for a victory on Sunday.
The Colonials (1-5) fell 11-6 to Army in the first game Saturday afternoon. The lead changed hands throughout the early innings before sophomore Owen Beightol advanced two runners with a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the seventh, followed by junior Derek Brown, who hit a clutch two-run single to tie the score at six. Those were the last scores GW would tally on the contest, as Army scored two runs in the eighth and three runs in the ninth to grab the victory.
The Black Knights carried that rally to the second game of the afternoon, scoring three runs in the top of the first off of GW sophomore starter Aaron Weisberg. Weisberg ultimately pitched five innings, yielding four runs with two walks and five strikeouts. The Colonials couldn’t find success at the plate, remaining scoreless on the eventual 5-0 loss after Army added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
GW picked up its first win of the season Sunday off the strength of junior pitchers Tyler McCarthy and Kenny O’Brien who stayed strong at the mound amid a pitchers’ duel for the Colonials’ 1-0 victory. McCarthy started the game, allowing just one hit with one walk and three strikeouts. O’Brien took over in the top of the sixth and didn’t allow a hit while striking out five. The sole score of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Brown drew a one-out walk and then advanced to second off a sacrifice bunt from senior Brett Bowers. Fellow senior Jimmy Best followed that with an RBI single to right field to score Brown and give GW the winning score.
The Colonials next head to Duke for a three-game series, with first pitch scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m.
Gymnastics
The Colonials wrapped up their six-game road stand at North Carolina Friday, falling 195.625-192.525 to their EAGL rival.
For the sixth time this season, junior Stephanie Stoicovy placed in the all-around, finishing third with a career-high 38.875. She scored 9.750 on vault, 9.550 on uneven bars, 9.750 on balance beam and a career-high tying 9.825 on the floor exercise.
GW scored a season-high 48.625 on the vault, paced by freshman Elena Corcoran, who tied for third with a team-high 9.775, followed closely by Stoicovy and freshman Courtney Willoughby, who tied for fifth with 9.750. Sophomore Betsy Zander finished in third place on the balance beam with a career-high 9.775, and fellow sophomore Kiera Kenney led the team on the uneven bars, tying for fourth place with 9.725.
The Colonials return to the Smith Center to host EAGL rival Pittsburgh March 3.
Women’s water polo
The Colonials played four games as a part of the CWPA vs. MAAC Weekend at Princeton’s DeNunzio Pool, capturing two victories Saturday but tallying two losses Sunday.
GW (4-3) opened play with an 11-5 victory over Villanova Saturday. The Colonials and Wildcats were tied through of the first half, but GW took the lead for good on a goal by sophomore Katherine Berry with just a minute and 36 seconds to play in the second quarter, nabbing a 5-4 lead at halftime. GW outscored Villanova 6-1 in the second half to earn the win. Sophomore Megan Brolley paced the Colonials with four goals, while Berry tallied two goals, two assists and two steals, and freshman goalie Chandler Vilander recorded five saves.
The Colonials carried that power into its next match against Siena, picking up a 13-5 win, where GW went a perfect 8-for-8 on the power play. Freshman Meagan Moreland paced GW’s attack with five goals, while Berry added three and senior Monica Hanson dished out six assists, while Vilander halted eight shots in goal.
But GW’s success couldn’t carry over to the second day of competition, falling to Wagner 14-6 before dropping to Iona 16-10.
The Colonials were down by just a goal early in the game, but Wagner used a 4-1 second period to unseat GW. The Seahawks shut down the team’s power play, GW converting on just two of 10 extra-man opportunities. Sophomore Allison Littlejohn netted two goals in the game, while Vilander stayed strong at the other end of the pool, tallying a career-high 12 saves.
In the second game of the day, Iona used an explosive first half to take a 6-2 lead after the first quarter and an 11-4 advantage at halftime. Though GW outscored the Gaels 6-5 in the second half, it wasn’t enough to overcome the first-half slide. Brolley led GW with four goals, followed by Berry, who added three. Sophomore Rachael Bentley added four assists, and Vilander recorded nine saves in goal.
GW next heads to Cambridge, Mass., March 3 to face CWPA rivals Bucknell and Brown.
