Things looked very bleak for the Georgetown men’s tennis team. They had just come back after a trip down to Florida where they had lost to Lynn University and Barry, two of the best Division II schools in the country. Yet, Head Coach Gordie Ernst stayed optimistic. He would constantly remark that the men “are overdue for a win.”
This weekend, the Hoyas didn’t just get one win – they picked up three.
The Hoyas began their winning campaign by sweeping Howard at home on Thursday. The match marked their first victory since Jan 18. The Blue and Gray dropped just one set in the 6-0 victory, when junior Adam Gross won in a 10-6 third-set super tiebreaker. Freshman Tim Walsh earned his first singles victory of the year at the No. 4 position, blanking Howard’s Chad Jones. His older brother, junior Kevin Walsh, completed the Hoyas’ victory with a 6-1, 6-1 win in the No. 5 spot.
Fresh off the victory that snapped a 10-match losing streak, the Hoyas were primed to play Big East rival, St. John’s. The Hoyas began quickly, capturing the doubles point, after the duos of Gross and senior Jeff Schnell, and senior Ted Tywang and junior Ken Wong, won their matches 8-5, 8-3, respectively.
The Hoyas then quickly went down 2-1, as Schnell and sophomore Will Lowell each lost their matches. Sophomore Anthony Tan managed to level the score with an impressive 6-2, 6-4 victory. The score was then again leveled when Gross won another three-setter, outlasting St. John’s Jordan Talbot. The match came down squarely on the racket of sophomore Dave Tillem.
“Tillem has missed the whole year with a broken wrist,” Ernst said, “but is moving up the line-up and getting it done.” Tillem did just that as he rallied to secure the Hoyas’ first win over the Red Storm in four years, winning 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.
The show didn’t stop there. Going into their third match in four days, the Hoyas dropped the doubles point, after a controversial line call that gave Boston College a match point, which they capitalized on.
The men remained undeterred. The team of Tillem and Tywang rolled over their opponents with their superb footwork and excellent ground strokes. Boston College then leveled the match. The Hoyas didn’t let it last for long, though, as Schnell’s serve carried Georgetown to a victory at first singles, 7-6, 6-4.
The match could now be won by either Gross or Wong, both of whom had rallied from a set down. Unfortunately, Wong dropped his match in a tight 6-3 third set, so all eyes now turned to Gross, who is was no stranger to third sets.
Gross went up an early break, but after some strong returns from his opponent, the match was once again on serve at 5-4. Ultimately, Gross proved that he is, as Ernst says, “clutch.” His experience and backhand proved too much, as he broke his opponent’s serve, to keep both his and Georgetown’s winning streak alive.
“I like him out there when the match is on the line,” Ernst said. “He is the definition of a competitor.”
The men’s tennis team faces off next away at the University of Richmond on Thursday, March 20.
“
