Oct. 4, 2001
Keeping Her Eyes on the Ball
Senior Erin Coppedge Leads GW Women’s Soccer
and US Deaf Teams to Success
By Greg
Licamele
Erin Coppedge plays soccer with her heart, feet, and eyes.
Each match the senior from Annapolis plays with passion for the full
90 minutes and beyond, demonstrating that she can play this game with
the best of them.
She was the best of them last season as she led the Atlantic 10 conference
in scoring, tallying 26 points. Mind you, this was the first time she
played forward. Coppedge claims she really didn’t know how to play
the position when the season began. Head Coach Tanya Vogel recognized
Coppedge was good with her feet, so she moved her from the backfield.
Coppedge’s eyes play a big role, looking to create offense and
spark the Colonials to victory, as she did three times last year with
game-winning goals.
But her eyes also are important because Coppedge is hearing-impaired.
As perhaps the only hearing-impaired student-athlete currently playing
NCAA Division I women’s soccer, Coppedge blends her heart, feet,
and eyes to play just as anyone else would.
“It’s definitely a very unique situation to be in,” Coppedge
says. “Obviously, communication is one of the biggest obstacles
I have to work with, but there’s no real change to playing. It’s
still the same game.”
Coppedge was named Second-Team All-Atlantic 10 for her success on the
field and is just as good in the classroom as a member of the GW Athletic
Academic Dean’s List.
“Erin is an outstanding soccer player, with the ability to play
wherever I ask her to play,” Vogel says. “She is strong technically,
has great tactical awareness, and is, simply, a great kid.”
Vogel says she was looking for someone to help the Colonials on offense,
specifically to complement speedster Kim Warner. Opponents ended up
focusing on Warner and forgetting to take care of the talented “new”
forward.
“Not knowing what to do (at forward) allowed me to be free and
create runs,” Coppedge says. “It just came naturally. I’m
hoping it will carry over this year.”
Besides her success at GW, Coppedge has taken her game around the globe
as a member of the 2001 Deaf Soccer World Championship team. Coppedge
represented the United States in London and Belgium this summer, playing
a round-robin tournament against eight other countries.
“I loved it,” Coppedge says. “I had never been exposed
to the deaf culture before, so I was able to represent the United States
from a different perspective.” Coppedge, who is learning sign language
now, reads lips to get messages from her teammates and coaches.
“I tend to glance at Tanya a lot just to make sure she hasn’t
been trying to get my attention,” says Coppedge, who wears No.
15 on the field. “If they really need to say something, it’ll
go through the grapevine. Being able to lip read, I can see them and
understand. A lot of it’s body language, too.”
After this season finishes, Coppedge is casting her eyes toward working
with kids. This past summer she worked at a sports camps for kids with
special needs and at the Maryland Special Olympics.
“To be able to give back to those kids was something that was very
rewarding for me,” Coppedge describes. “So I think I want
to go into special education, which is opposite of what I’ve been
studying. If not, maybe I’ll use my exercise science degree and
go into a deaf middle school and teach or become a strength and conditioning
coach.”
Tennis Duo Grabs A-10 Awards
Men’s tennis players sophomore Matt Hane (Walterboro, SC) and freshman
Jake Jopling (Wexford, PA) were named the Atlantic 10 Conference Player
and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for the week ending Sept. 22.
The pair led GW to the 20-team Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)
North men’s tennis championship, Sept. 21–23, at Vassar College
in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Hane, last year’s A-10 Rookie of the Year, climbed through the
bracket defeating Justin Ingoglia of Middlebury (6–3, 6–3),
Chris Watson of Skidmore (6–4, 6–3), UConn’s Mike Furman
(4–6, 6–3, 6–3), and NYU’s Mike Thompson (6–3,
7–5) in the finals. Joppling recorded victories over Ash Pajoohi
of Hamilton (6–0, 6–0), Greg Fuji of Adephi (6–1, 6–0),
Vassar’s Davis Rhodes (6–1, 6–2), Ben Lamanna of Bates
(6–1, 6–4), and NYU’s Aron Gortman (6–2, 6–0).
Cross-Country’s Talbird Runs Down A-10 Honors
Junior David Talbird (Lookout Mountain, TN) was named the A-10 Cross
Country Performer of the Week for the week of Sept. 17–22.
Talbird, the team’s MVP last season, finished 23rd out of 152 runners
at the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational, Sept. 22. Talbird’s
performance followed an impressive fourth-place finish at the Towson
Invitational on Sept. 8. It is the first time this season that a Colonial
harrier has won the conference’s weekly honor.
Volleyball’s Stroman Shares Accolades
Freshman Britta Stroman (Richfield, MN) received a share of the A-10
Conference Rookie of the Week for volleyball. It marks the first conference
honor of her collegiate career and the first time this season a Colonials
volleyball player has been recognized by the league. She shares this
week’s honor with Dayton’s Christie Utnage.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
