A lot of Colonial sports teams were in action this weekend. Here’s a look at what we couldn’t fit on the page:
Men’s Squash
The Colonials went into play at the College Squash Association Team Nationals looking to defend their championship title from last year.
In its first matchup of the weekend, GW scratched away a 5-4 victory over No.23 Hamilton. The team picked up straight set wins from freshman James Reiss at the No.3 position and junior Chris Bell at the No.9 to jump out to an early lead. With the score tied late 4-4 though, it was senior Omar Sobhy’s win at the No.1 position that ultimately clinched the match for the Colonials.
In Saturday’s semi-final match against host Wesleyan, the Colonials ended on the opposite side of a close match, falling to the Cardinals 5-4. Reiss and freshman Reid Breck again picked up early wins, and heading into the final two matches, the Colonials held a 3-2 advantage. But two five-set losses ended GW’s shot at a repeat and instead sent the Cardinals to thecChampionship match.
Looking to rebound in Sunday’s season ending match, the Colonials defeated Bowdoin, 5-4, giving them third place in the Championships and a final national ranking of No.20. For the third straight day Sobhy won his No.1 position, this time again to close out the match for GW. The win brings his senior year record to 18-3 and brings his career wins total to 58- the all-time high at GW.
Breck, too, finished out the weekend undefeated, bringing his debut season victory tally to 19, the most on the team.
Women’s Tennis
The Colonials won their fourth straight match over the weekend, defeating UMBC 5-2 on Sunday.
GW grabbed the first point of the match with wins at the No.1 and No.2 doubles slots. Senior Mimi Hamling and Leah Pascarella defeated their No.1 opponents 8-1, while senior Dorota Lysienia and freshman Lana Robins grabbed a comeback 8-5 victory at the No.2.
In singles action, the Colonials took home wins in the Nos. 1-4 spots, quickly closing out the match. Pascarella continued her dominance, giving up only a single set in her 6-0, 6-1 victory at the No.1 position.
Men’s Tennis
GW defeated two nationally ranked opponents this weekend, dominating No. 61 South Alabama by a score of 6-1, and then defeating No. 60 Georgia State, 4-2.
In doubles action against South Alabama, junior Ulrik Thomsen and senior Alexander van Glis combined for a 8-3 victory at the No.1 spot, while sophomore Francisco Dias and senior Leonardo Lapentti earned a hard-fought 9-7 victory in the No.3 position.
Dias moved on to win his No.1 singles match 6-4, 6-4 over No.49 ranked David Leitner. The rest of the Colonials went on to win four out of the remaining five singles matches, including a 6-2, 6-2 win from freshman Danil Zelenkov and a 6-0, 6-2 win from Thomsen in the final match.
Sunday’s match against Georgia State opened differently, with the six singles matches going first. Junior Nikita Fomin defeated his No.2 opponent 6-3, 6-0, while Zelenkov and Thomsen also captured victories again. In a down to the wire finale, Lapentti won his No.5 position by a score of 7-6, 7-5, closing out the win for the Colonials.
GW will faced another ranked opponent next weekend in a rematch against No.46 Columbia.
Women’s Water Polo
The Colonials went 3-1 over weekend action, dropping their first match to Wagner before bouncing back for three straight wins against Villanova, Siena and Iona.
In their first match of the CWPA/MAAC Crossover, GW let Wagner get out to a commanding 5-1 lead and never pulled within closer of three goals, as they fell 15-10.
The Colonials found their groove in the next match against Villanova, matching a school record for goals scored as they defeated the Wildcats, 23-18. Junior Megan Brolley also matched the program’s mark for points in a game, tallying nine points on six goals and three assists. In addition to Brolley’s contributions, freshman Hannah Cox recorded a career-high five goals and sophomore Meagan Moreland grabbed a career-best six points on four goals and two assists. For the game, the Colonials went 9-of-11 on man-up opportunities.
In the second day of action, GW jumped out to a 7-1 lead against Siena, eventually extending it to a 10-1 margin, before reaching the final score of 11-7. Cox scored a team best four goals in the game, while sophomore goalkeeper Chandler Vilander had seven saves in three quarters of play.
In a much more contested match against Iona, the Colonials outscored the Gaels 4-1 in the final period to break a 9-9 tie and grab the win 13-10. Cox again led the team with five goals, while junior Katherine Berry recorded a hat trick.
Cox finished the weekend with 18 goals, making up almost a third of the Colonial’s offensive attack.
Gymnastics
Despite finishing in fourth place at Maryland’s quad meet this past weekend, the Colonials posted a season-high team score, 194.825, as well as a season-high score in floor exercise, 49.100.
Host Maryland took the event with a score of 195.600, followed by Bridgeport (195.200) and Pittsburgh (194.875).
In addition to the two season-high marks, the Colonials also matched their best marks of the season on uneven bars, 48.675, and vault, 48.650.
Junior Betsy Zander placed fourth in the all-around with a score of 39.075- only her second time breaking 39.000 this season. Sophomore Courtney Willoughby tied for 10th on the balance beam with 9.700, and then went on to post a career-high 9.85p on floor exercise to earn herself fourth place.
Senior Stephanie Stoicovy also placed fifth behind Zander in the all-around with 38.825.
