By By Andrew Scharff
MEN’S BASKETBALL
George Mason opened the men’s basketball season for the Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA), participating in the 2K5 Sports College Hoops Classic. George Mason won its opener, beating Mississippi Valley State, 78-64. With that win, the Patriots drew No. 18 Wake Forest in the next round. The Patriots gave the Demon Deacons a scare when they took them to overtime, but Wake held on for the 83-78 win despite a 23-point performance from George Mason guard Tony Skinn. Conference favorite Old Dominion (ODU) opens its season tomorrow against Georgia in the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Tournament.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Drexel opened the season as it took part in the Preseason Women’s NIT. The Dragons blew a late second half lead, falling to Boston College, 51-44. Drexel’s Catherine Scanlon led all scorers with 16 points.
MEN’S GOLF
Georgia State had the second lowest final round score of five under par (283), leading the Panthers to a win at the Carpet Capital Collegiate on Nov. 6. Georgia State beat No. 5 Florida by one stroke and was led by freshman Mark Haastrup as he shot a career-low final round 67.
SWIMMING & DIVING
ODU went 2-0 last week, beating Delaware and William & Mary (W&M). The Monarchs were led my Men’s Swimmer of the Week Patrik Balint and Men’s Diver of the Week Noah Scully. Balint won three events: the 200 backstroke, the 500 freestyle and the 200 freestyle. Scully won both the 1-meter and 3-meter with scores of 278.35 and 289.90, respectively.
For the women’s side, Anna Hubbard of UNC Wilmington was awarded Women’s Swimmer of the Week award as she won three individual events. The freshman won the 200 IM, the 100 breast stroke and the 200 breast stroke. Freshman Kate Hynes of Drexel was awarded the Women’s Diver of the Week honor, winning the 1-meter dive with a score of 275.63 and the 3-meter dive with a score of 265.90.
FIELD HOCKEY
ODU advanced to the national semifinals, beating Ohio State, 5-4, in the first round and Michigan, 3-2, in the second round. Darcy Pinchbeck and Denise Admiraal each had two goals and CAA Player of the Year Janelle Engle added a goal and an assist against the Buckeyes. In Sunday’s game against the Wolverines, Katelyn Smither scored the game- winner eight minutes into the second half. ODU will face top seeded Maryland in the semifinals tomorrow.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) had its season come to end last Sunday as it lost to North Carolina (UNC), 6-2, in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Lindsay Tarpley had a hat trick for the Tar Heels as UNC took a 4-0 lead until midway through the second half when VCU forward Stephanie Power netted a goal. Prior to the loss to UNC, the Rams beat Clemson, 3-1, to advance to second round.
VOLLEYBALL
W&M could not catch the Pride in the standings, giving the Blue & Gold the right to host the CAA tournament this weekend. The Tribe will get a first bye despite going 4-0 last week (the Pride has one more conference win than W&M). CAA Co-Player of the Week Caitlin Geraghty and CAA Rookie of the Week Kim Mount led the Tribe to a seven-game winning streak to end the season.
The match ups for the CAA tournament are as follows: No. 4 VCU against No. 5 Georgia State, with the winner taking on the top seeded Pride. In the other match, No. 3 Towson will face No. 6 James Madison for the right to play W&M. The tournament begins tips off tomorrow.