The men’s tennis team wrapped up its fall season this weekend facing tough competition at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Atlantic Regional Tournament hosted by the University of Virginia.

The United States Tennis Association/ITA Atlantic Regional Tournament is part of a larger network of tournaments across the United States. Champions from the Atlantic Regional Tournament advance to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., hosted by Columbia University.

“The atmosphere coming into this tournament is always one of excitement,” sophomore Charlie Caris said. “[It’s] an opportunity to play against some of the best teams and players in the country.”

The singles main draw was not kind to the Blue and Gray; Caris, juniors Michael Clarke and Andrew Bruhn and senior Tim Walsh all lost in straight sets to their first-round opponents.

Walsh faced off against Fahoum Fahoum from Old Dominion, losing 6-2, 6-2. Bruhn, the Hoyas’ alternate captain, fell to Jordan Dyke from Virginia Commonwealth University, 6-0, 6-3. Clarke put up a tough fight against Longwood’s Marc Ferrigno before losing 6-3, 6-4 and Caris was defeated by Penn State’s Bryan Welnetz, 6-2, 6-4.

The four Hoyas were not done with singles play, though, as there were still matches to play in the consolation rounds. The Blue and Gray fared slightly better in their consolation matches, as Caris claimed Georgetown’s sole singles victory in the tournament with his 6-4, 6-4 victory over Maryland’s Graham Knowlton. Walsh came close to adding to Georgetown’s singles win total but ultimately fell in a tiebreaker in the third set, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5). Bruhn and Clarke both put up good fights in their matches, but neither could establish much momentum in their straight-set losses.

“Everyone was loose and prepared for their match, but our results weren’t ideal,” Caris said, “We can’t give away so many free points and expect to win matches.”

Georgetown performed significantly better in the doubles portion of the competition, as Bruhn and Clarke put their singles struggles behind them to make a run to the quarterfinals. Although Caris and Walsh dropped their first-round match against Virginia’s team of Sanam Singh and Steven Eelkman Rooda, their hard-fought defeat was tempered by Singh and Rooda’s eventual second-place finishes.

“This season, it has been our goal to improve our doubles play,” Caris said. “I think the team’s results over the weekend show that we have achieved that goal.”

Clarke and Bruhn rolled comfortably through their first two rounds, defeating teams from Maryland and Morgan State 8-5 and 8-3 respectively. In the round of 16, the junior duo notched one of the most impressive results of the weekend, overpowering fourth-seeded Sebastien Vidal and Ben Hoogland of William & Mary 8-3, earning a spot in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately for the Blue and Gray, Clarke and Bruhn’s impressive run ended with an 8-5 loss in that round, but they can take solace in knowing that their performance was the best at an ITA Regional under current Head Coach Gordie Ernst.

The Hoyas will not play again until their spring season begins at Virginia Commonwealth University’s 3+2 tournament in Richmond, Va. in late January.