It was certainly Philadelphia’s weekend on the football field, and the same could be said for on the tennis court, too.  The Georgetown men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled to Philadelphia this weekend to kick off their respective seasons and left without a victory.

In the Hoyas’ first match of 2018, the men’s team (0-1, Big East) battled the University of Pennsylvania Quakers (2-3, Ivy League) on Sunday, Feb. 4. Georgetown struggled top to bottom in the match, falling in all six singles matches and losing the doubles point for a 7-0 defeat. Overwhelmed by a strong Quaker squad, the Hoyas failed to reach a third set in any of the singles matches.

At the top of the lineup, freshman Mark Militzer, who made his official Georgetown debut in the No. 1 match, suffered a 6-0, 6-1 defeat. Junior Michael Chen and freshman Luke Ross battled in the No. 3 and No. 6 singles competitions, and Chen fell 6-3, 6-2 while Ross lost 6-1, 6-4.

The doubles point was more hotly contested. The combination of senior Marco Lam and sophomore Ian Witmer provided the Hoyas’ only win of the match in a 6-5 triumph. In the No. 1 doubles slot, junior Michael Chen and freshman Rohar Kamdar fell 6-3 while senior Mac Rechan and freshman Charlie Sharton lost 6-2 in the No. 2 position for an overall 2-1 defeat.

Although disappointed in the team’s performance, Assistant Coach Courtney Dolehide said that it takes time to adjust to the competitiveness of official matches and praised the upperclassmen’s leadership.

“With such a young starting lineup, sometimes it takes a little bit to play their way into the season and get the hang of what to expect in a real dual match. We’re lucky to have great leadership on our team, so I don’t think that the learning curve will be a big one,” Dolehide said.

The women’s team (0-2, Big East) also began its 2018 campaign in Philadelphia, battling the Drexel Dragons (3-1, Colonial Athletic) on Friday and the University of Pennsylvania Quakers (2-1, Ivy League) on Saturday in a pair of 4-3 defeats. Against Drexel, the two squads split the singles matches 3-3, but the Dragons took the doubles point.

For the Hoyas, senior Sara Swift and junior Sydney Goodson each triumphed in their singles matches in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-3, respectively. Senior Daphne de Chatellus prevailed in a three-set comeback of 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 5 position to round out Georgetown’s victories. In doubles competition, upperclassmen duo senior Drew Spinosa and junior Cecilia Lynham dominated in a 6-0 victory. Drexel, however, captured the remaining doubles points in the No. 1 and No. 2 matches for a 2-1 doubles win.

On Saturday, the Hoyas travelled across town to square off against the Quakers in what amounted to a second 4-3 defeat in as many days. Singles play doomed Georgetown against Penn, as the top four singles in the lineup all failed to collect a point.

The back of the singles lineup took its matches, as de Chatellus continued her successful weekend with a straight set 6-3, 6-4 victory, and senior Casey Marx won in similar fashion, 6-2, 6-2. Georgetown also prevailed in doubles competition as the combination of Spinosa and Lynham won for the second day in a row, 6-2, with Marx and junior Risa Nakagawa clinching victory in a 7-6 affair.

Despite being a point away from victory in both matches, Dolehide believes that these tight contests are great preparation for Big East play.

“Both matches ended up coming down to a third-set singles match with two players that are seasoned,” Dolehide said. “The team isn’t demoralized at all; having two 4-3 matches at the beginning of the season is the best way to prepare yourself for the tension later on down the line.”

The Blue and Gray will be back in action this week, as the men’s team hosts Monmouth University (0-3, Metro Atlantic) at Yates Field House on Friday. The women’s team next competes Feb. 13 at home against Towson University (1-1, CAA).

Pls no indefinite pronouns: “While Philadelphia dominated the football field this weekend, Georgetown’s men’s and women’s tennis teams both dropped games against schools in the City of Brotherly Love, a slow start to their respective seasons.