April 1, 2003
Colonials Finish First in NCAA Opener
The GW womens basketball
team faced down 11th seeded University of Oklahoma on its home court
in front of more than 3,000 partisan fan in the opening round of the
NCAA Womens Basketball Tournament. After a slow start the Colonials
defeated the Sooners, 7161, to advance to the second round against
Villanova on March 25.
Unlike Rhode Island in the A-10 Championship finals, the Sooners focused
their game plan on shutting down GWs inside presence, dedicating
a pair of defenders to junior center Ugo Oha. As a result Head Coach
Joe McKeown adjusted GWs offensive game plan to feature the outside
shooting of Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Cathy Joens. Joens finished
the game with 22 points, including 14 in the second half.
Despite the constant menacing from Oklahoma defenders, Oha finished
the night with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks for George Washington.
The Sooners held a three-point advantage at halftime and led, 3431,
early in the second half before GW went on a 192 run. Joens led
the offensive onslaught, nailing three 3-point shots during the spurt,
which saw Oklahoma commit five consecutive turnovers.
Im proud of my team tonight, said McKeown after the
game. It was a great atmosphere and the Oklahoma fans made it
a great home court for them. Our kids really took control in the second
half of the game. I thought we played with a lot of poise in a difficult
environment.
Oklahoma out-rebounded the Colonials, 3929, and dominated GW on
the boards during in the first half, pulling down 24 rebounds to GWs
12.
Coming into halftime, I read on the board that Oklahoma had 23
rebounds and we had 11, said Oha. I just tried to emphasize
to my teammates that in order to win this game that we had to get on
the boards. Our rebounding was one of our weak points but I know were
going to bounce back.
After making it to the national championship game in 2002, Oklahoma
(1912) had been besieged by injuries during the 200203 season.
The Sooners lost four players to knee injuries, including senior star
Caton Hill. Big 12 Conference co-Freshman of the Year Chelsi Welch helped
pick up the slack as Oklahoma has overcome injuries to make its sixth
NCAA Tournament appearance.
I give Oklahoma a lot of credit, said McKeown, who served
as the schools assistant coach from 198486. They had
a terrific year. It speaks a lot of their program to be back in the
tournament after losing players to graduation and injuries. Im
sure theyll be hanging around for a while.
Villanova advanced to the second round by beating St. Francis, PA, 5136.
Complete Game Victory Leads GW to First
A-10 Win
The GW baseball team (165, 11) won the second game of a
doubleheader against A-10 opponent Rhode Island in Norwich, CT, on the
strength of Colonials pitcher Dan Sullivans complete game performance.
Sullivan gave up only two runs on four hits, dropping his season ERA
to 3.33. Chris Barry hit a single, double, and triple in GWs first
conference win of the year.
In the first game the Rams ended GWs 11-game winning streak when
they rallied to win, 76, at Dodd Stadium. The Colonials led 60
but could not hold off the Rams who scored five runs in the bottom of
the fifth to secure the win.
GWs ace Greg Conden (42) suffered the loss for the Colonials,
allowing seven runs on four hits with six strikeouts in five innings.
Only two of Condens runs were earned as the Rams capitalized on
a pair of costly Colonials errors in the bottom of the fifth. The 11-game
winning streak was the fifth longest in team history.
Lacrosse Team Gets First A-10 Victory
Freshman Colleen Schmidt scored the game-winning goal with 6:54 remaining
to lift GW to its first-ever Atlantic 10 Conference victory, 76,
over visiting Saint Josephs at GWs Mount Vernon Athletic
Complex on March 23. The league victory was a milestone for the GW lacrosse
program, now in its second season, after going winless in Atlantic 10
play last year.
Early on, it looked like Saint Josephs might run away with the
game after the Hawks jumped on GW for three goals to open the match.
The first two by Kelly Butler within the first five minutes and a third
by Kerry OConnell just six minutes into the game. GW sophomore
Jenny Heisler got the Colonials on the scoreboard with a goal at the
14:12 mark of the first half, but Butler answered with her third goal
just three minutes later.
Goals by GW freshman Lauren Bower and sophomore Meghan McDonough pulled
GW to within one at 43 to close out the first half.
The Colonials came out firing in the second half with a pair of quick
strikes by sophomore Jamie Lee (Berkeley, CA/Berkeley) and Heislers
second tally in the first 2:50 of the period to put the Colonials ahead,
54.
Saint Josephs (04, 01 A-10) responded with a pair
of goals, one by junior Amie Schmoltze and a second by Kristen Teklinsky
to recapture a 65 advantage.
GW Softball Picks Up Second Win
The GW softball team defeated the University of Vermont, 43, March
21 to end its road trip to Florida with its second win of the season.
Freshman Elana Meyers pitched out of some tough situations to hold Vermont
to three runs and pick up her second victory of the season. She also
helped the Colonials offense with an RBI triple in the top of the third.
Campus Prepares for 16th Annual GW Crew
Classic
GW is set to host the 16th annual George Washington Invitational Crew
Classic, the metropolitan areas largest collegiate rowing competition.
The April 12 regatta on the Potomac River serves as the unofficial finale
to the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs through April 7.
Rowing faithful will need to make their way to Thompsons Boat
House at the bottom of Virginia Avenue or Washington Harbour in Georgetown
by 8 am if they want to catch the preliminary heats. The 2,000-meter,
four-lane buoyed course begins near the Spout Run area of the Potomac
River with the finish line in front of the Washington Harbour. The finals
are scheduled to begin at 1:20 pm, and an awards ceremony will follow
the competition at approximately 5 pm.
More than 400 rowers from 10 universities, including GW, are expected
to take part in the day-long event. Previous classics have hosted squads
from George Mason, Georgetown, St. Josephs, the US Naval Academy,
and Virginia among others, competing for the Gilbert H. Hood, Jr. Point
Trophy.
Mens and womens categories this year include: varsity eights,
second varsity eights, varsity fours, novice eights and second novice
eights.
Last year the US Naval Academy crews won seven events at the crew classic
to capture the Gilbert H. Hood, Jr. Point Trophy. GW tied Marietta College
for fourth place.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu