After ending last season with a run to the Big East quarterfinals, Georgetown women’s tennis is looking to the new season with a renewed competitive fire and has added new talent to make a deeper run.
This weekend marks the beginning of a new season as the Hoyas begin their campaign with a short ride up the road to Towson, Md. The Hoyas will travel to Maryland from Sept. 20-22 seeking a successful result to the beginning of their season when they compete at the Towson Hidden Dual.
Fans of the squad may find themselves unfamiliar with much of the roster this year, with the team having added a total of five new players over the offseason. One of these newcomers, graduate student Ellen Puzak, joins the Hoyas after showcasing her talent with the Buffaloes of University of Colorado Boulder. Some of her career highlights include 45 total match victories, as well as wins against No. 25 Baylor and No. 67 Denver.
Also included in the newcomers is rising star first-year Molly Evans, who shined in her high school career while competing for Sidwell Friends School. During this time, she was a 4 time champion of the Independent School League (ISL), amassing an astounding record of 41-1 during this time. Evans possessed an outstanding No. 2 overall ranking in the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) Sports Global Player Rankings.
Fellow first-year Hoya Carolyn Schaefer also made her mark in the tennis world during her high school career, being named to the All-State roster three times in her home state of Wisconsin. Not only did Schaefer impact the world of tennis while dominating on the court, but she was also granted the Frank Parker Award, which is presented by the Wisconsin Tennis Association for showing outstanding leadership and making major contributions to the game of tennis in Wisconsin.
While the Hoyas will be excited to watch their new recruits make an instant impact on the court, returning players who made large impacts last season will look to take another step forward in the fall. Sophomore Emily Novikov is back for her second campaign with the Hoyas, and her first season was a major success. At the conclusion of last season, she was named both Big East Freshman of the Year, as well as named to the Second Team All-Big East. With one year of experience under her belt, look out for her to make her name known across the conference again this year.
Fellow returner junior Paige Gilbert will also look to improve after an excellent performance last year. She notched an impressive victory in singles last year against The George Washington University (GWU), storming back to comfortably win the final 2 sets after dropping the first.
The Hoyas’ success was not only limited to individual stats but notably extended to their doubles performance when, in April of last season, Novikov and Gilbert routed the GWU doubles team.
In the Big East quarterfinal matches with the Red Storm, Novikov and Gilbert were again the focal point of attention. They each won their singles matches and then were once again able to successfully team up and win a doubles match together. While the team as a whole was overpowered by the Red Storm on that day, the Hoyas should look forward to two of their top players returning with another year of experience and wisdom to guide the team to victory.