The Georgetown men’s and women’s tennis team recorded dominant performances in their respective tournaments this weekend. The men’s team competed in the Joe Hunt Memorial Invitational where they collectively went 30-11 in singles and 16-3 in doubles while the women’s team went 8-2 in singles and 4-2 in doubles at the Harvard Fall Classic.
In the singles A flight, senior Peter Beatty recorded a 7-5, 6-4 victory in the finals after battling back from a one-set deficit in a highly contested semifinal match. Freshman Connor Lee soared to victory in the singles C flight, winning all four of his matches in straight sets.
“Pete [Beatty] is our captain and has been for three years, and he had a great tournament, winning the [Joe Hunt Memorial] tournament there,” Georgetown Head Coach Gordie Ernst said. “He wants to do something. He’s not one of these seniors who is coasting. He wants to leave his mark.”
The D flight featured Georgetown teammates going head-to-head in the finals for the flight championship. Freshman Charlie Sharton bested junior Michael Chen in a competitive two-set match that ended with a tiebreaker in the second set. Coming into the match, Sharton was dealing with back spasms and considered dropping out of the finals.
Freshman Luke Ross finished third to give Georgetown the top three finishers in the flight.
The Hoyas continued their strong play into the doubles matches, as Georgetown won both the B and C flights. Chen and Lee teamed up to win the B flight, and junior Will Sharton and Ross combined to win the C flight.
The men’s team features five freshmen this year, and their addition has helped the Hoyas get off to a strong start.
“When you get your leaders working in unison with the freshmen and all doing well, that is a great thing. That’s what you want to see. And that’s what we had happen this weekend,” Ernst said.
Although the team is just a few weeks into the fall season, Georgetown’s performance in the Joe Hunt Memorial shows promise for the rest of the fall season. However, the team will not return to action until Oct. 19 when the team travels to Lynchburg, Va., to compete in the ITA Regionals.
The Georgetown women’s team also played well over the weekend in the Harvard Fall Classic. The Hoyas competed in singles and doubles matches, some of which featured a duo of a Georgetown and Harvard player. Overall, the Blue and Gray finished 8-2 in singles and 4-2 in doubles.
“At this point in the season, they need matches, and we got a lot of matches as well as close matches, which at this time in the fall is really all you can hope for,” Assistant Coach Courtney Dolehide said. “They fought really hard, so it was a great weekend.”
In particular, junior Risa Nakagawa has continued her strong play. In singles, Nakagawa picked up straight-set victories against opponents from Boston University and Delaware. She also teamed up with senior Daphne de Chatellus in a dominant 6-1 doubles victory over Delaware.
“Risa Nakagawa has the ability and experience to [make a run this year]. She still is a little bit under the radar because she plays for Georgetown and not Virginia or Duke or Virginia Tech. She could do it. She could break through and go on a run. She’s one of the best kids I’ve ever coached as a person,” Ernst said.
The Georgetown women’s team will also have an extended break before their next match. The team will compete next in the women’s ITA Regionals hosted in Blacksburg, Va., which is scheduled to start on Oct. 12, one week before the men’s ITA Regionals.
Although the season is just underway, both the men’s and women’s teams are off to a strong start. “As a program, we have fabulous kids. All want to work hard; all are bought in to winning the Big East title. I’ve never had that,” Ernst said.
