From water polo to volleyball, GW’s student-athletes are donning the Buff and Blue for the start of fall sports. George Washington Today caught up with coaches and players for a season preview.
Soccer
The GW men’s and women’s soccer teams already have a few games under their belt. Men’s soccer has played in three exhibition matches, hosting two on GW’s newly resurfaced Mount Vernon Athletic Field, while women’s soccer lost to nationally ranked Georgetown in its season opener Aug. 19.
Women’s head coach Tanya Vogel, B.S. ’96, M.S. ’99, M.B.A. ’06, said the leadership of the juniors and seniors on the team—including senior goalkeeper Lindsey Rowe—and their 10 new freshmen will be instrumental to the team’s success this season. Meg Murphy, a freshman forward, was recently named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Rookie Team. The team’s next home game will be against University of Iowa Sept. 2.
“We’re really excited about the opportunities that exist for us this year,” said Ms. Vogel. “We have a highly touted recruiting class so we’re looking to see them contribute right off the bat. Anytime you have both leadership and young impact players, it is exciting.”
This season will be the last for men’s head coach George Lidster, who will retire after leading the Colonials for 24 years. With five new freshmen and a “good returning core” —including “scoring threats” Yoni Berhanu and Seth Rudolph, who was recently named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference First Team —Mr. Lidster said the team is looking forward to improving upon last season.
A successful season, said Mr. Lidster, would conclude with getting into the Atlantic 10 Tournament and competing for the league title.
The team will face American University in its season opener Sept. 1, and will host Bryant University for its first home game Sept. 17.
Water Polo
Led by head coach Scott Reed, men’s water polo is also looking to its new recruits to add depth. The men’s team has seven new faces, including Ridvan Pehlivan, who was captain of Turkey’s Junior National Team.
Junior Cameron Illes, last season’s MVP, said the team’s “great recruiting class” should boost the team’s performance as the season progresses. In late September, the team will host Princeton, Johns Hopkins and Bucknell at the Charles E. Smith Center Pool.
“Last year was a great building year and I'm really looking forward to what we can do this year,” said Mr. Illes. “I have no doubt that Coach Reed has set us up with a path for success and as long as we stay focused we will be competing with the top teams in the Collegiate Water Polo Association.”
Cross Country
Men’s and women’s cross country teams have been pounding the pavement to prepare for their seasons, which begin for both teams Sept. 2 at the Mount St. Mary’s 5k Duals. New head coach Terry Weir said he’s looking forward to the Colonials’ performance this season as the men’s team recovers from last season's injuries and the women’s team —which includes six new runners— “gets stronger” every week.
“The race we will be pointing all of our training and preparation toward is the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships on Oct. 29 in Charlotte, N.C.,” said Mr. Weir. “It’s going to be a big challenge, but we would like to improve on our performance from last year [11th place for both teams].”
Volleyball
GW volleyball was picked sixth in the preseason A-10 Coaches Poll, but the Colonials are looking to be number one. The team will have five starters returning to the squad, including 2009 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team members Lauren Whyte and Candace Silva-Martin, as well as five new recruits.
The team will open its season Aug. 26 at American University in the second match of the six-match D.C. Challenge before hosting four contests the following day at the Charles E. Smith Center. This season, the team will also face five teams that appeared in the 2011 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship, including defending Atlantic 10 Champion University of Dayton.
New head coach Amanda Ault said the team is “anxious” to get its season started.
“Getting into A-10 conference play is going to be very exciting,” said Ms. Ault. “There are a lot of great teams and it’s a very good volleyball conference that regularly has teams in the top 25. That is where we are aspiring to be.”
Visit gwsports.com for more information on varsity sports at GW.