Feb. 15, 2005

Basketball’s Beck Goes After A-10

Midway through its Atlantic 10 conference schedule, the GW Colonials women’s basketball team finds itself face to face with a rookie sensation — Kimberly Beck. Heading into the final six games of the season Beck, a freshman guard from Fairburn, GA, has earned conference Rookie of the Week honors four times this season. She leads the team in steals (56) and assists (107), and her 34.1 minutes per-game average is second only to Anna Montañana, the senior forward from Valencia, Spain.

“[I] have to do a better job of getting her out and giving her some rest,” said Head Coach Joe McKeown. “She’s like a little Energizer bunny. She never looks like she’s tired, and she never gets hurt… . [S]he’s tough as nails, and she’s mentally tough. We’ve had some great freshmen come in, and she’s been as fearless as any of our great players of the past.”

Beck earned her third consecutive Rookie of the Week title, and her fourth of the season, for the week she took home the honor, and for the week ending Jan. 30. Beck averaged 12.7 points and 7.0 assists in three games for the Colonials during the week.

In the Colonials come-from-behind win against the Dayton Flyers, Feb. 6, Beck scored seven points in the span of 23 seconds, converting on a four-point play and a three-point play to put the Colonials ahead, 49–42. GW never trailed on the way to a 71–59 victory over the Flyers.

“That was the point in the game that helped us,” said Montañana. “When you see things like that happen — first four points then three points and another three points — it makes us feel really energetic. We can feed from those plays, and that’s really important.”

“It was a big play,” agreed McKeown. “The three-pointer where she got fouled, then the three-pointer after that took the momentum away from Dayton. It was a big point in the second half.”

The women’s team wraps up its regular season with three straight home games Feb. 20, 24, and 27 against Xavier, Duquesne, and La Salle respectively. GW will host the A-10 Tournament March 4–7.

Two Colonials Soccer Players Named All-Americans
GW junior Jon Allen and sophomore Joseph Siegel each were selected as All-Americans by the Jewish Sports Review in its January/February issue. Allen was rewarded with first-team honors, while Siegel was an honorable mention choice.
Allen, a forward, started 19 games for GW in 2004 before his season was cut short due to injury. He still finished second on the team with 17 points and was tied for the team lead with six goals.

Siegel, who also plays up front, started 13 contests and finished the year with nine points on four goals and one assist. He was named to the DC College Cup All-Tournament Team on Sept. 6 and was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Nov. 8, following his five-point performance in GW’s victory at Richmond on Nov. 6.

They are the first GW men’s soccer players to be named All-Americans by the publication since Michael Goldman in 2001–02.

The Colonials won the A-10 Championship in 2004 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history.

Women’s Tennis’ Swenson Earns Rookie of the Week Honors
Freshman tennis player Kendall Swenson was named the A-10 Women’s Tennis Rookie of the Week for her performance in GW’s victory over Howard University.
Swenson, playing at No. 1 singles, improved to 2–0 on the season with a 6–4, 4–6, 1–0 (10–1) win over Howard’s Kristin Harris to help GW knock off the Bison, 6–1, Feb. 4, for its first victory of the spring campaign.

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