The Georgetown women’s tennis team opened the 2001-2002 campaign with an impressive start this weekend at the Bucknell Invitational.

Despite a grueling schedule of matches including four in 12 hours on the first day and three more matches on the second, the Hoyas performed well in almost all flights in the tournament’s compass draw format. In what Head Coach Rich Bausch called, “the best match of the tournament,” freshman Liora Gelblum defeated her teammate, senior Caroline arshall, 6-1 and 6-2 to capture the Flight B singles title.

Bausch said the score did not reveal the high quality of the tennis being played and felt both players would have been able to beat the champion of the Flight A, where the highest rated players in the tournament were placed.

In addition to this title, the Georgetown doubles team of sophomore Chelsea Kammerer and sophomore Jordan Botjer won the Flight A doubles championship. Coach Bausch was impressed with Kammerer, who is a transfer and was playing in her first tournament for the Hoyas. Other impressive results this weekend included those of freshman Lydia Bartell and Botjer, who each reached the semi-finals of the Flight A singles draw; sophomore Lara Madonia, who reached the finals of the Flight C singles draw; and Gelblum and Bartell, who made it to the finals of the Flight B doubles draw.

Bausch said he felt the difficult two-day schedule of the tournament “tested the determination of everyone on the team.” He said on the second day players were “running on a reserve not of physical energy but of team energy.” atches began 9 a.m. Saturday morning and it was not until 9 p.m. that night that the Hoyas finally finished matches and were able to eat dinner.

Looking at the season as whole, Bausch said the first-year players are all very talented but noted leadership will have to come from the team’s returning players. Marshall and junior eredith Bumpass, as the only two upperclassmen on the team this year, will shoulder a great deal of the leadership burden. The other two returning players, Botjer and Madonia, will also play an important role in leading the team throughout the course of the year.

Last year’s difficult season resulting in a 3-16 finish, and a 1-7 Big East record, has only made the returning players more determined for this season. The success of the weekend has made them feel a whole lot better. Bausch said that after the team won 18 out of 22 matches on the first day of the weekend, he and some of the returning players recalled how long it took to achieve that mark during the many difficult periods last spring. However, Bausch was quick to point out that this year’s squad certainly has not crossed all of the hurdles it is expected to face.

“Much of the competition here will not be as tough as what we face in the Big East. What matters is how we play in the Big East schedule,” Bausch said. “Now, we have to narrow our focus to the close losses we had.”

The women’s tennis team looks to build on the success of this weekend when they return to action in the D.C. Metropolitan Championships held at the McDonough tennis courts, which begin tomorrow.