ByGeorge! Online

March 18, 2003

Monroe Hits the Mark

Senior Makes GW History as All-Time Leading Scorer

Chris Monroe engraved his name at the top of the 88-year-old men’s basketball record book with a pair of free throws with 37.8 seconds remaining in the second half of the GW-Massachusetts contest March 10.

As Monroe hit his first shot, he tied Joe Holup for the most career points in Colonials history with 2,226. Monroe’s next basket sealed his status as GW’s most prolific scorer, surpassing the 44-year-old record.

The senior from nearby Hyattsville, MD (Good Counsel High School) has played in all 117 games of his four-year career, netting 202 three-point shots and 105 double-figure scoring games, among other statistical gems. Monroe is only one of eight players in Atlantic 10 history to score more than 2,000 points in a career, placing third overall on that distinguished list. Monroe and Holup are the only two Colonials to reach the 2,000 point plateau (though Holup’s numbers do not count in the Atlantic 10 record books). Monroe now tops a list of superb GW basketball players for most career points:
• Chris Monroe, 1999–03, 2,227 points (as of March 10)
• Joe Holup, 1953–56, 2,226
• Mike Brown, 1981–85, 1,916
• Pat Tallent, 1972–76, 1,725
• Kwame Evans, 1993–96, 1,723

Through the years, Monroe’s teammates and coaches have praised his work ethic.

“We practice hard for three hours a day, then go back and study,” says freshman Mike Hall. “We often came over to the gym at 9:30 pm, and there he was practicing his jump shot. That showed me what it takes to be a good player and a good leader.”

When Monroe passed the 2,000-point plateau on Jan. 25, Head Coach Karl Hobbs said, “When he came here as a freshman, if someone had said he was going to score 2,000 points, you wouldn’t have believed him. I’m really proud of Chris and especially of the way he played. He played with a lot of energy and heart; he made shots when he had to. I feel very honored to have been the one to coach him.”

Shortstop Shanley Shines
As of March 12, freshman Tom Shanley has hit in 12 consecutive games for the baseball team, earning Atlantic 10 Rookie of Week honors recently. He has started every game at shortstop for the Colonials this year and has a hit in each of them. Shanley leads the Colonials with a .409 batting average.

In the first half of the March 9 doubleheader against Fairfield, Shanley came to the plate in the seventh inning without a hit in two previous at-bats. It appeared to be his final at-bat of the game as the Colonials were three outs from losing the seven-inning game. With GW down 8–1 and two men on, Shanley hit his first collegiate home run to keep his hitting streak alive. More importantly, the homer keyed the Colonials comeback as they tied the game in the bottom of the seventh forcing extra innings. After giving up a run in the top of the eighth inning, the Colonials looked to Shanley again for a lift. He came through again this time with a single to leadoff the bottom of the eighth inning. Two batters later Shanley scored when senior captain Chris Barry blasted a two-run walk-off home run for a 10–9 GW victory.

Shanley hit .538 during the week of March 3, including two doubles, one homer, seven runs and five RBI. Despite hitting ninth for all but one game this year, Shanley leads GW with 18 hits. The Colonials hold an 8–4 record.

Women’s Tennis Tops Mount St. Mary’s
The GW women’s tennis team won its second match of the weekend, March 9 against Mount St. Mary’s, 6–1, at the GW-Mount Vernon Tennis Facility. The win helped the Colonials creep closer to .500 on the season as their record improved to 3–4.

Senior Tracy Wei had no problems at No.1 singles, winning 6–1, 6–1. Junior Nazli Gencsoy and sophomore Sevla Gonca didn’t lose a game on the day, both winning their singles matches 6–0, 6–0 and teaming to win at number two doubles, 8–0. The same goes for senior Samantha Fisher and sophomore Natasha Bode who blanked their opponents at No. 5 and No. 3 singles, respectively, and won at No. 2 doubles, 8–0.

The Colonials will go for three in a row when they travel to Cincinnati, OH, on March 27 to take on Xavier.

 

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