George Washington University Athletics
Softball Tabbed A-10 Favorite
2/5/2021 3:01:00 PM | Softball
Colonials enter 2021 season with lofty goals
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Matching its lofty goals heading into the spring, George Washington softball has been picked atop the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, the conference announced Friday.
The Colonials received 93 points, including four of 10 first-place votes, in a poll of the conference coaches to edge Fordham by a single point. Massachusetts (77), Dayton (70) and Saint Louis (59) rounded out the top five.
It was an expectedly tight race at the top: GW and Fordham shared the A-10 title in 2019 and were picked as co-favorites in 2020 before the season came to an abrupt ending due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
In 2021, the Buff and Blue, under Head Coach Shane Winkler, will look to earn the outright A-10 crown and advance to their first NCAA Tournament behind a promising mix of familiar faces and new additions.
GW's roster features 14 holdovers from 2020, a list highlighted by former All-Conference selections Jenna Cone, Sierra Lange, Jessica Linquist and Alessandra Ponce.
In total, six student-athletes who started all 24 contests last spring have returned: Cone, Linquist, Ponce, Faith Weber, Sidney Bloomfield and Hannah Eslick. All of them were part of GW's historic 2019 run, which featured a program-record 44 wins and a berth in the National Invitational Softball Championship.
Cone leads the way, seeking to close out her decorated career in style. The program's first A-10 Player of the Year and All-American in 2019, the graduate student was recently tabbed to USA Softball's Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List for the third time.
Lange, an All A-10 First Team and NFCA All-Region performer in 2019 in recognition of her excellence in the circle and at the plate, is back after missing last spring due to injury.
Bolstering its lineup, GW has added a pair of seasoned graduate transfers in Olivia Vinyard (Yale) and Amber Lotz (Houston Baptist) and seven first-years to the mix.
In a revised format, four teams will advance to the A-10 Championship, which will be hosted by the top seed from May 13-15. GW's full spring schedule will be released soon.
The Colonials received 93 points, including four of 10 first-place votes, in a poll of the conference coaches to edge Fordham by a single point. Massachusetts (77), Dayton (70) and Saint Louis (59) rounded out the top five.
It was an expectedly tight race at the top: GW and Fordham shared the A-10 title in 2019 and were picked as co-favorites in 2020 before the season came to an abrupt ending due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
In 2021, the Buff and Blue, under Head Coach Shane Winkler, will look to earn the outright A-10 crown and advance to their first NCAA Tournament behind a promising mix of familiar faces and new additions.
GW's roster features 14 holdovers from 2020, a list highlighted by former All-Conference selections Jenna Cone, Sierra Lange, Jessica Linquist and Alessandra Ponce.
In total, six student-athletes who started all 24 contests last spring have returned: Cone, Linquist, Ponce, Faith Weber, Sidney Bloomfield and Hannah Eslick. All of them were part of GW's historic 2019 run, which featured a program-record 44 wins and a berth in the National Invitational Softball Championship.
Cone leads the way, seeking to close out her decorated career in style. The program's first A-10 Player of the Year and All-American in 2019, the graduate student was recently tabbed to USA Softball's Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List for the third time.
Lange, an All A-10 First Team and NFCA All-Region performer in 2019 in recognition of her excellence in the circle and at the plate, is back after missing last spring due to injury.
Bolstering its lineup, GW has added a pair of seasoned graduate transfers in Olivia Vinyard (Yale) and Amber Lotz (Houston Baptist) and seven first-years to the mix.
In a revised format, four teams will advance to the A-10 Championship, which will be hosted by the top seed from May 13-15. GW's full spring schedule will be released soon.
Players Mentioned
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