George Washington University Athletics
Matt Owens Earns A-10 Rookie of the Week Award
4/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 29, 2003
WASHINGTON, DC - George Washington freshman Matt Owens (Fayetteville, GA/Fayette County) has been named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, the conference announced on Monday, April 28th. Owens' honor represents the fifth time this season, more than any other A-10 school, that a GW baseball player has been named Rookie of the Week. Owens hit two home runs and a double in a four-for-five performance on April 23rd against Delaware State.
The freshman from Georgia has played in 25 games this year, starting 13 games mostly as the designated hitter. On April 23rd, he got his first career start in centerfield and was the leadoff hitter for the George Washington Colonials (29-11, 7-5). Owens responded by going four-for-five with two home runs and a double while collecting four runs and two RBI.
Owens played in four of the Colonials five wins during the week and led the team with a .615 batting average (8-13). Even more impressive was his 1.308 slugging percentage for the week which featured two homers and three doubles in eight hits. He now leads all Colonials with a .673 slugging percentage this year. The freshman also combines speed with his power and has stolen four bases without being thrown out. Owens improved his batting average by .090 over the course of the week.
The Colonials have now claimed five A-10 Rookie of the Week awards, more than any other A-10 school. Shortstop Tom Shanley (Stanfordville, NY/Pine Plains) has earned three, while pitcher Josh Wilkie (Alpharetta, GA/Chattahoochee), also from Georgia, added another. Overall, GW now has 10 of the conference's weekly awards this season. The Colonials are now tied with Richmond who has also earned 10 awards in 11 weeks. The Colonials and Spiders meet on Friday and Saturday for a three-game series in Richmond with games starting at 1:00 pm both days, including a doubleheader on Friday. No. 14 Richmond leads the Atlantic 10 (14-3 .824) while GW (7-5 .583) is fourth in A-10 West and sixth overall.
The Colonials have a 10-game winning streak as they enter Tuesday's game with Bucknell. This is the first time in GW history that the club has had two winning streaks of at least 10 games in the same season. GW also hosts George Mason on Thursday at 3:00 PM before facing division rival Richmond. GW beat the Spiders in the A-10 Championship in 2002.
