Softball swept at home

The GW softball team dropped both games of a home doubleheader to James Madison University Wednesday at Mount Vernon, sinking their inaugural season record to 2-17 overall and 0-4 in the Atlantic 10.

The Colonials did not score a run in either game, losing the first 5-0 and the second 4-0. But while the offense was absent, the team did see solid pitching.

In game one freshman leader Elana Meyers (2-8) pitched 4.2 innings, giving up only six hits and no earned runs while sophomore Jaclyn Sanderson pitched 2.1 scoreless innings. But two Colonial errors led to five unearned runs and the loss.

Sanderson pitched well in the second game, going 5.1 innings with no earned runs. But starter sophomore Jen Lawrence gave up four runs in just 1.2 innings and the lack of offensive production hindered any chances for GW to get their young offense started.

The losses came after GW was swept in a pair of doubleheaders last Friday at St. Joseph’s and last Sunday at Temple. The lone bright spot of the Philadelphia excursion was the first ever GW home run, hit by Lawrence.

GW will have a chance come back at St. Bonaventure April 4 in Olean, NY.

-Anthony Moniello

Women’s water polo wins three in final conference weekend

In its final regular season conference weekend, the GW women’s water polo team won three out of its four matches at Villanova during the Collegiate Water Polo Association Weekend No. 2.

The three wins put the Colonials (13-9) in good position for the regional Southern Championships, to be held April 11-13 in Lewisburg, Pa. GW’s seed will be determined this week.

“We did real well this season, considering we had some injuries,” head coach Scott Reed said. “We’re going to use the next two weeks to get healthy and fine tune our defense.”

In GW’s last game Sunday the team topped Salem International 9-3. After leading 9-1 at halftime, GW let its defense finish the game. Five Colonials scored with junior Kira Canon leading the way with three goals.

GW’s first game Sunday was an 8-4 victory against Villanova. It was a close game throughout and GW won by scoring four quick goals. Canon led the way with five goals.

In GW’s second match of the tournament, they lost a 14-10 battle to No. 13 Princeton Saturday. After falling behind 8-2 at halftime, GW battled back and out-scored Princeton in the second half but could never retake the lead. Senior Kiersten Johnson scored three goals to lead the team in a balanced scoring attack. Freshman goalkeeper Amy Heineman had six saves.

GW beat Bucknell 8-7 in its first match with five goals from Canon and six saves from Heineman.

-Ted Simonson

Crews open spring season in inclement weather

The men’s and women’s crew teams both encountered temperamental weather in their spring openings. But while the men used it to their advantage at home, the women were hindered by it in the unfamiliar waters in Ithaca, NY.

The men got off to an undefeated start against Virginia and George Mason on their home field, the Potomac River. Both the varsity eight and the freshman eight took first place in this spring opener last Thursday.

While rough conditions in the last 500 meters proved to be too much for the visiting teams, GW took advantage of the familiar course and beat the closest competitor by more than two seconds.

The women, opening their spring against Cornell University for the sixth straight time, found strong opposition from the No. 14 team in the country, falling short in each of their races.

The varsity eight race turned into a back-and-forth battle between the two boats. After Cornell took the initial lead, the Colonials were able to catch up and stay competitive for the first two-thirds of the race.

At the 1,000-meter mark, a heavy headwind struck the rowers and Cornell was able to regain its balance and move ahead before GW could. In the last 250 meters, the Colonials sprinted and almost pulled alongside the Big Red but were unable to catch them before the finish line.

Cornell finished the 1,500-meter course in 7:26.2, while the Colonials came in at 7:32.41.

-Lauren Kornriech

Mayer scores four in loss

The GW women’s lacrosse team lost to Mount Saint Mary’s 12-9 last Saturday in Emmitsburg, Md, losing a halftime lead to five unanswered Mount Saint Mary goals.

GW (5-3, 1-1 A-10) held the narrow lead at the half after four goals from sophomore Heidi Meyer, including one to put GW ahead with 16 seconds left, but Mount Saint Mary’s scored five second-half goals in 10 minutes and the Colonials could not recover.

The Colonials look to rebound from their loss Friday, April 4 in a match against California in Cambridge, Ma.

-Lauren Silva

Golf finishes fourth at GW Invite

With the weather cold and the wind howling, the GW golf team tied for fourth Monday in a 20-team field at the GW Invitational. Freshman Andrew Gallo was the top Colonial at the tournament, placing in a tie for fifth with a 77 at Swan Point Country Club in Issue, Md. Princeton won the tournament with a 309.

The tournament was scheduled to start on Sunday, but after persistent rain turned to snow, GW head coach Scott Allen decided to cancel the first round. While Monday’s weather was still poor, there was no accumulation from the day before and the course was playable, Allen said.

The Colonials shot a combined 327 to tie Wesley College and finish two strokes behind third-place Rutgers and 15 strokes behind second-place Yale. Senior Michael Ball had the second best score for GW, shooting a 79 to tie for 11th place.

Freshmen Dan Mirabella, Federico Guzman, and Brian Carroll were the other three starters for the Colonials, finishing with a 85, 86 and 89, respectively.

Allen said he was proud of his team, which never gave up as the conditions caused most players to struggle.

“Our guys are pretty good at hanging in there and staying out of trouble,” he said. “They’re maybe not the best at stringing together five birdies or reaching a par five in two, but they’re scrappy and they always hang in there and get it done.”

The Colonials’ next tournament is the Navy Invitational this Saturday and Sunday in Annapolis, Md.

-Jeff Nelson

Tennis loses weekend matches

The GW women’s tennis team lost its second of three weekend games at Princeton University Saturday. The 7-0 shutout dropped the Colonials’ record to 4-6 after a 7-0 loss to Xavier Friday.

The women did pull out a win on Thursday versus Duquesne, 5-2. GW pulled away with doubles victories from the teams of junior Nazli Gencsoy and sophomore Selva Gonca and sophomore Natasha Bode and freshman Estee Bartell. All four also won their singles matches.

The women will look to bounce back when they face William & Mary Tuesday, April 1 in Williamsburg, Va.

The men followed in the women’s footsteps, losing both matches Friday to Duquesne and Saturday to Xavier, dropping the team’s record to 8-6 on the season.

Despite the loss, the Colonials turned in strong singles victories from junior Matt Hane and sophomore Matt Treadgold. The win was Hane’s 11th at singles this season.

The men will also look to improve their record when they take on St. Bonaventure Saturday at Mount Vernon at noon.

-Jill Ersner