by Erin Lamb The explosion of womenıs athletics at GW in the first two decades of the 1900s exemplified an increase in womenıs participation in University life. GW females played in tennis tournaments throughout the early 1900s, and the first official team was begun in 1913. The first womenıs basketball team was also inaugurated in spring 1913, with that fall marking the start of its first full season of play. Practices of more than 15 women were held once a week for an hour.

According to The Hatchet, the "co-eds" of 1913 had "splendid prospects for a fine team from a number of available candidates." The year 1913 also marked the beginning of the first true star of GW womenıs basketball, Theodosia Nelson Seibold, class of 1917, a forward who led the team in scoring in every game she played.

The women played an entirely different game from the one people know today. Teams put six players out on the floor ­ two forwards, two centers and two guards ­ and each had to remain on a specific side of the floor. The guards and centers played defense and passed the ball to the forwards, who were the only people allowed to score.

In 1915, the GW women posted an impressive record of 14-1. In 1916, the team began making trips north to play schools such as Temple and Swarthmore. In 1917, the women won the Middle Atlantic Division championship.

The success of the womenıs basketball team led to increased participation in other sports. The first womenıs track meet, open to all GW female students, took place in January 1918 at the Washington YWCA. The first womenıs swim team started competing at the YWCA in 1920.

The Hatchet reported on the womenıs teams fairly regularly, although never on the front page. The newspaper also used the terms "girls" or "co-eds" to refer to the women. However, there was a decided amount of respect and support given to the womenıs teams ­games were reported in the same style as the menıs teams ­ proving that these womenıs teams were the pioneers of GW womenıs athletics.