Golf team takes fourth at Temple Invitational

The GW golf team battled through rough weather to finish fourth out of 13 teams this weekend at the Temple Invitational in Moosic, Pa.

Sophomore Dan Mirabella led the Colonials, placing eighth overall with a nine-over-par 151 in the two-day tournament. Sophomore Andrew Gallo also played well, placing 17th overall in a 64-person field.

The team combined for a total of 618 strokes, shooting a 305 on Friday and 313 on Saturday. Penn State won the tournament, shooting a 597, with Rutgers (607) and Princeton (613) also finishing ahead of GW.

The Colonials were unable to win their second tournament in a row after taking the Rehoboth Beach Fall Invitational last week, but the team played well against some tough programs that have more money and superior golf facilities to GW. Penn State University, for example, has a course on its campus.

GW Head Coach Scott Allen said the Colonials are off to their “best start in twenty-something years” and their fourth-place finish was GW’s best showing ever at the Temple tournament. The Colonials finished above conference rivals Temple and St. Joseph’s, which Allen said this was an indicator that his golf program is taking the next step.

If not for some horrid weather, the Colonials might have finished even higher than fourth. After the first day, they were in third place, trailing Penn State and Rutgers but beating Princeton by two strokes. The weather worsened on Saturday, though, and Allen said he was disappointed that GW had to play at a worse time than Princeton.

“We had to play in heavier winds and heavier rain, and that helped Princeton catch up,” he said.

Allen said he was mostly satisfied with the play of all of his players. Mirabella stepped up as the top finisher, while sophomore Brian Carroll and senior Charles Taylor both recovered nicely after bad starts to their second rounds.

Gallo, who won the individual title in Rehoboth Beach, Del. last week, shot 82 in the second round after a team-best 74 in the first round. But one bad round in bad weather is excusable, Allen said, considering Gallo has carried the team this season.

Overall, Allen said he was happy that his team has closed the gap with a school like Penn State and overtaken some other teams but that he would have liked a better finish to the tournament.

Next weekend, the Colonials will travel to New Haven, Conn., for the Yale McDonald Cup.

–Subir Grewal

First leads women’s tennis at Army

The GW women’s tennis team competed in the Eastern Invitational in West Point, N.Y., this past weekend after playing in the D.C. Metro Tournament from Sept. 27th to Sept. 30th. The Colonials produced one singles finalist at Army and three of the four semifinalists at the Metro Tournament.

At the Eastern Invitational, senior Lindy First reached the number two singles final and seniors Nazli Gencsoy and Selva Gonca reached the quarterfinals.

First won her first two matches easily, 6-1, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-1, and pulled out a three-set match to reach the finals. But against Allison Davidson of St. John’s University, she lost in three sets 6-2, 6-7, 10-6.

“Lindy did very well and I am proud of her accomplishments,” freshman Mara Frisch said. “She won three straight sets to go on and compete in the final against a tough opponent.”

Gencsoy and Gonca both had easy times reaching the quarterfinals but lost in tough matches to opponents from Niagra and Long Island University, respectively.

The Colonials produced three of the four semifinalists in Flight A and two of the four semifinalists in Flight B at the Metro Tournament. GW also placed finalists in Flight A and B doubles, but only the Flight A competitors were able to finish due to scheduling conflicts.

First, Gencsoy and Bode all advanced to the semifinals by winning at least two matches and First and Bode went head-to-head in one semifinal match with First winning, 6-1, 6-3. Gencsoy lost her semifinal in straight sets to Kristen Harris, with First also losing to Harris in straight sets in the final match.

Sophomore Estee Bartell advanced to the finals in Flight B singles and the semifinals in Flight B doubles. Bartell defeated Frisch on her way to the semifinals, 6-4, 6-0.

In other Flight A competition, the team of Bode and Gencsoy won three matches to reach the doubles finals, while the Colonials placed two teams in the semifinals of Flight B.

Before play was halted due to scheduling conflicts, double teams of Bartell and freshman Anne Watkins and Frisch and freshman Leah Woodward each won two matches.

“The team is having a lot of fun this year and we’re all adjusting well to the new program,” Frisch said.

The Colonials hit the courts again this Friday against Georgetown.

–Jill Ersner