Monday Morning Musings

November 21, 2005

It's quality time, not quantity. With fall regular seasons behind and the bulk of winter sport contests ahead, only the best of the fall teams are still competing in this week before Thanksgiving. Today at 12:00 noon and 1:15 pm respectively, seven Georgetown men and seven women will compete for individual and team titles in the NCAA cross country championships in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The ninth-ranked men and the 29th-ranked women will be seeking to join the 36 Hoya runners who have earned 54 All-America accolades in the sport of cross country. Just one of those, Charles Capozolli '52, finished first to win the individual national title.

The first 25 American finishers earn All-America status. For the official release about the Hoyas' participation in the championships, use this link. For a list of competing schools and individuals, check out this site.

National championships are not an everyday occurrence. But with Georgetown's long and rich athletic history, it is no surprise that there have been quite a few national champions in the past who have worn the blue and gray, individuals and teams both. The sports of champions include baseball, basketball, men's and women's crew, men's and women's track & field, golf, rifle, and sailing. Still, just a handful of Hoya national champs have earned two titles, all in track & field: Al Blozis, Christine Mullen, Kevin King, Steve Holman, Rich Kenah, and Miesha Marzell. As of last Saturday, one individual stands alone at the top with three national championships in four years of varsity competition: All-America sailor and Olympian Andrew Campbell '06.

Andrew completed the trifecta at the single-handed national championship in Kaneohe, Hawaii. Competing against the top 15 college sailors in the nation, he vanquished the best from, among others, Harvard, Stanford, and the Merchant Marine Academy. And what a great venue to hold a national championship! I especially like how they award the championship trophy: "banquet and awards on the beach in Waikiki at the Elks Club Lodge." Hoya, Hoya Saxa!

The fall sports final scoreboard: 35 contests won, 60 lost for a .368 win percentage. On a brighter note, our two sailing teams and men's cross country team all finished the season ranked in the top 10 nationally. And there's two seasons of competition to go.

My picks for most interesting contests this coming week:

> Men's Basketball: Tip-off is 1:00 pm for the home opener at MCI Arena against Vanderbilt (2-0 as of this posting). The Commodores compete in the SEC which means their strength-of-schedule index is high. A victory against a team from a power conference like the SEC means something come post-season selection time. This will be tough game against a team whose last loss, like the Hoyas, was in the quarterfinals of the NIT.

> Women's Basketball: The home opener on Thanksgiving eve pits the Hoyas against Mt. St. Mary's at McDonough Gym. Going with a thin Hoya bench this year, the Mount (0-1) should be a good warm-up for the back-to-back games in Indiana on the following weekend.

Last week, the Hoya athletic teams posted an overall win-loss record of 3-1 and earned a 1st, an 8th, and two 9th place finishes in standings competition.

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Players Mentioned

Andrew Campbell: Senior

Players Mentioned

Andrew Campbell
: Senior