One of the goals of our “SportsTalk Shop” is to spotlight outstanding female student-athletes in the RCN markets. I had an opportunity this past week to interview one of the current top athletes in RCN’s coverage area—for both our Pennsylvania and Washington, DC audiences.
Senior girls lacrosse player Jamie Bumgardner, after having an outstanding high school career in Pennsylvania, has gone on to play—and excel—at the Division-I level at George Washington University. In high school, Jamie totaled 123 goals and 45 assists in three scholastic seasons at Gwynedd Mercy Academy. She was also a two-time Athletic Association of Catholic Academies (AACA) selection. She also become an all-AACA performer and two-time District qualifier on the Monarchs’ golf team.
Following graduation and after making the challenging adjustment to playing collegiate lacrosse at its highest level, Jamie has gone on to put herself in the record books at GW. This past Friday in a game against Richmond, she registered four more assists, which not only pushed her over 100 for her career, but also tied her for the top spot, all-time in GW history (with at least four more games for her to establish—and add to—a new university record). Here are more of Jamie’s outstanding athletic accomplishments in college (as of April 9th):
- Ranks 5th all-time at GW with 156 career points
- Current Season numbers: 13 goals, 19 assists, 32 points, 13 ground balls, 14 draw controls
- In 2013, tallied 18 goals and tied GW’s single-season record with 39 assists, which led the A-10 and tied for 14th in NCAA Division
- Became 3rd player in program history to record at least one point in every game for two consecutive seasons (2013, 2014)
- Set Colonials’ single-game assists and points records with 12 points on six goals and six assists against Liberty (Feb. 26, 2014
George Washington participates in the very competitive Atlantic-10 conference. Jamie’s squad has not only had success in the league, but she continues to find herself ranked among the best individually in both the A-10 and the NCAA. Her rankings as of 4/9/15:
- Ranks 3rd in Atlantic 10 with 19 assists this season
- Ranks 5th in Atlantic 10 with 32 total points this season
- Two-time A-10 All-Conference Second Team selection (2013, 2014)
- Ended 2014 season as A-10 leader and fifth in NCAA Division I with 38 assists and 2.38 assists per game
- What really impressed me about this senior “attack” player was not just her ability to maintain an exceptional academic standing, but Jamie is a terrific representative of both her college, the conference and the sport of lacrosse. This sport, for both the boys and girls teams, has seen great growth in interest in many areas of the country…but in others, it’s still in its infancy stages. Here’s a portion of my conversation with Jamie discussing her career, the quality of play at George Washington, and her thoughts on the advancement of girls lacrosse.
Bumgardner has two regular season home games remaining (4/17 vs. Duquesne and 4/19 vs. St. Bonaventura; both games are at the GW Lacrosse Field) before the Atlantic-10 playoffs commence. Regardless of Jamie’s final individual numbers that end up being logged into the record books, she’ll have the recognition of being regarded as a great ambassador for her sport and her collegiate program.
We are always on the lookout for outstanding accomplishments by athletes, both on and off the athletic fields. If you have a suggestion for an athlete for us to feature, send us an email at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and join us for “RCN SportsTalk” at our new time, now broadcasting live from 7-8 pm, Thursday evenings on RCN-TV.
