After a considerable hiatus due to the record snowfall in the area, both the men’s and women’s tennis teams were in action this weekend. The men dominated the weekend, earning two solid victories against Bucknell and Lehigh, while the women suffered two heartbreaking losses against rivals Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Having not competed in three weeks, the Hoyas might have been a little bit rusty, but the break caused by the snowstorm proved to be beneficial for the men’s team, which used the opportunity to train hard and recover from nagging injuries. Head Coach Gordie Ernst saw the advantage in the layoff. “It really helped get them back in shape,” he said. “[This team] is healthier and hungrier than they have been in a long time.”

When the Blue and Gray finally took to the court Friday evening, they came out on fire. The men easily snatched the doubles point with the nationally ranked team of senior Dave Tillem and freshman Charlie Caris winning 8-5, junior Bryan Miller and sophomore Andrew Bruhn dominating 8-1 and seniors Will Lowell and Anthony Tan outlasting their opponents 9-7.

The Hoyas continued their impressive play in the singles, quickly reeling off two points, as Tillem and Caris dominated their opponents. Bruhn sealed the match with a tough 6-4, 7-5 victory at the No. 5 position, while Lowell closed out his match to win in straights. Sophomore Rafael Notario rallied from a set and a break down to win in three. The Hoyas’ only blemish was Tan’s 11-9 loss in a third set super tiebreaker.

The Hoyas then traveled to Lehigh, where they got off to another quick start, once again capturing the pivotal doubles point behind wins by Tillem/Caris and Lowell/Tan. As was the case at Bucknell, Tillem easily won his match 6-3, 6-2 to put the Hoyas up 2-0. Tan, playing at the No. 3 spot following his loss at Bucknell, won in two close sets to put the Hoyas up 3-0. Ernst was pleased with Tillem’s weekend.

“[Tillem] is playing some of the best tennis of his Georgetown career,” he said.

Lehigh appeared to steal some of Georgetown’s momentum, taking a one-set lead in two matches and winning the No. 4 match in straights. After losing his set lead, Lowell won 6-3 in the third, and junior

Tim Walsh sealed Georgetown’s 5-2 win with a three-set comeback victory of his own.

Ernst spoke highly of his team’s performance.

“Often times we play teams, and we are the underdog,” he said. “This time we were the favorites and we delivered. They came after us and we held our ground and responded. It was a great chance for everyone to play and get a shot at winning some matches.”

On the women’s side, freshman Victoria Sekely and sophomore Lauren Greco put in another pair of solid performances, each going undefeated on the weekend. The Hoyas’ opponents proved too strong for the rest of the team, however, and losing both doubles points proved costly.

Junior Caroline Kuehn got her first singles win of the spring against West Virginia, and junior Alex Sebia split the two three-set matches she played on the weekend and won both her doubles matches.

Despite these individual performances, the Hoyas lost both matches 4-3. The losses notwithstanding, Ernst was not upset with his team.

“This is what Big East athletics is about,” he said. “Every match is a grind and a really tough competition. West Virginia is the exact same team that beat us last year 7-0. This year we had our chances to win it.

“[Sekely and Greco] are taking the best the Big East has to offer and easily winning at the No. 1 and 2 spots [respectively].”

The women will look to rebound from this weekend as they play on the road Thursday against Rutgers. The men will be at UPenn on Wednesday.