GU Women Win Three At Palmetto State
By Sean Gormley Hoya Staff Writer
Over spring break, both tennis teams headed to South Carolina, and while the fortunes for the women’s team are looking up after a 3-1 mark on the trip, the men continued to stumble, losing 3 of 4 matches. The women raised their record to 6-9, while the mounting losses for the men dropped them to 3-11.
On March 8, the Hoyas lost to the Bucks of Charleston Southern 7-0 to start off their spring break trip, winning only one set along the way, during a close loss by senior Justin Hom. Playing No. 6, he lost a hard fought contest 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).
Two days later the men took on Austin Peay at the Port Royal Tennis center, a premier tennis resort. The Hoyas started off strong winning the doubles point with wins by junior Dave Boyer and freshman Ken Jordan at No. 2, and freshmen Nick Sklavounos and Andre Benjamin at No. 3. However, they only won one singles match, a 6-2, 6-3 win by senior Justin Berman at the No. 1 spot, on the way to a 5-2 loss.
To end their road trip in Hilton Head, S.C., the men took on both Temple and Seton Hall on March 12. The Hoyas started the day with a 5-1 loss to Temple, with the No. 5 singles match not being played. No. 4 Beau Brewer won the only match, 6-2, 7-5 after recovering from leg cramps suffered during a tough loss in his match against Austin Peay.
Later in the day, the men won their only match of the trip, 4-3, in a Big East showdown with Seton Hall, both school’s second match of the day. In doubles, the duo of Boyer and Jordan, along with Sklavounos and Benjamin, won their matches to win the important doubles point. In singles, Numbers one through three all lost, but No. 6 Boyer and No. 4 Jordan carried the rest of the team on their back, winning their matches 6-1, 6-1 and 6-3, 6-4, respectively. No. 5 Justin Hom finished off the Pirates, winning the deciding match 6-4, 6-4.
The women opened up their week with a strong showing, shutting out Slippery Rock University, 9-0, with the Hoyas soundly winning all of the matches. The Rockets were spanked, with No. 1 junior Lucky Ravindra winning 6-0, 6-1 and her sister, Sarada, winning 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2; No. 3 Missy Mendes winning 6-1, 6-2; No. 4 Ayana Brooks winning 6-0, 6-1; No. 5 Lindsay Manwell winning 6-0, 6-0; No. 6 Gina Kim winning 6-1, 6-1. The duos of Megan Crotty and Sarada Ravindra, Carolina Marshall and Lucky Ravindra, and Erin Kamemoto and Missy Mendes sweept doubles.
The Hoyas followed up their dominating performance with a tough loss against Evansville, 5-4. Freshman Carolina Marshall won 6-0, 6-2 at No. 6, and senior No. 5 Kamemoto won 6-2, 6-1, but the women dropped the rest of the singles matches and were unable to sweep the three doubles matches, which they needed to pull out a win.
In another close match, the women beat Charleston Southern, 5-4, on the strength of four singles wins. No. 2 Lucky Ravindra , No. 5 Kamemoto and No. 6 Marshall dominated their opponents, while No. 3 Sarada Ravindra won in a three hour endurance race, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5). Lucky Ravindra and Carolina Marshall won at No. 1 doubles 8-3, to seal the victory for Georgetown.
The women finished up their week in South Carolina against Bucknell University. The Hoyas started off strong on their way to a 6-3 victory, with the pairings of Lucky Ravindra and Marshall, Sarada Ravindra and Crotty, and Kamemoto and Mendes sweeping doubles. In singles, No. 1 Lucky Ravindra won 6-3, 7-5; No.2 Crotty won 6-3, 6-3, and No. 4 Brooks won 7-5, 6-0 to finish off the Bison.
This coming weekend, the men look to turn their season around, travelling to Penn on Saturday, and hosting St. John’s on Sunday to continue their Big East schedule. The women look to continue with their solid play of late, hosting St. John’s and Virginia Commonwealth over the weekend.
