With 11 freshmen and two transfers joining Georgetown’s tennis teams, the Hoyas are taking the expression “fresh start” literally as they begin the fall season.

“We have some first-year players who are going to be playing pretty high at the D.C. Metropolitan Championships,” Georgetown Head Coach Rich Bausch said, referring to this weekend’s first tournament on the schedule. “And we have some returning players that are going to be playing lower than we would have hoped.”

The men’s team, which finished fifth in the Big East last year with a 7-8 overall spring record and 4-3 in the conference, adds five freshmen to its roster. Two transfers will also join the team, junior Bert Baggio from Rutgers and sophomore Richard Moran from Boston College. Five of these new players fill the No. 3 to 7 slots on the singles ladder right now.

“There’s two freshmen that have really been solid day in and day out, Adam Gross and Ken Wong,” Bausch said. “It’ll be particularly interesting to see how they play … in more competitive draws.”

The returning players, however, have been shaken up in the Hoya ranks. Sophomore Ted Tywang, the No. 7 singles player last year, is now at the top of the A draw.

Sophomore Etienne Paris will start at No. 2 this year. He earned the team’s 2004-05 Comeback Player of the Year award for rising from No. 10 in January to No. 3 by the end of the spring season.

Meanwhile, sophomore Scott Maucher and junior Kevin Killeavy have fallen to the bottom half of the lineup. Last year Maucher racked up 12 singles wins at No. 2 while Killeavy played mostly at No. 4, earning the team’s Most Improved Player award with an 8-3 record.

“I’m certainly disappointed for them that they’re not playing higher in the D.C. Metro,” Bausch said. “But at the same time I’m obviously excited that we’ve got some new guys who are really competitive.”

For the women’s team, the sophomore duo of Steph Cohen and Adriann Gin will lead off in the top two spots. Cohen finished last year at No. 1 while Gin was at No. 3. Both had 13 singles and 11 doubles victories during the spring season last year.

Six freshmen join the women’s team this year. Out of that group, Bausch said that Courtney Olsen has been “probably our most consistent performer.”

Although Georgetown finished last spring with a 9-12 record and 3-5 in the Big East, four of its victories came against local teams: George Washington, American, George Mason and Howard. This bodes well for the Hoyas’ chances in the Metro Championships as they will be playing these schools in the regionally focused tournament that includes squads from Baltimore to Richmond, Va.

Twenty teams and 145 players will compete in this weekend’s competition, and Georgetown’s McDonough Courts are the primary site for the three-day event. George Washington and American will also play host to some matches. Play begins at 8 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and continues through the evening. The finals of the flights will take place on Sunday, starting at noon.