The Georgetown University men’s and women’s tennis teams had mixed results in a packed weekend of matches.
The men’s team (4-12, 2-1 Big East) faced Marquette University (4-13, 1-1 Big East) in College Park, Md., on March 20, before the women’s team (3-7, 1-1 Big East) joined the men for a trip down to Richmond, Va., the next day to face the University of Richmond men’s (7-7) and women’s (4-8) teams. The men also competed the following Thursday, March 26, against Loyola University Maryland (1-9) in Baltimore.
The Hoyas started strong over the weekend. The men dispatched the Marquette University Golden Eagles 6-1, starting with wins from senior Arthur O’Sullivan and first-year Jonah Hill at No. 1 doubles and graduate Burke Pablo and junior Hank Williams at No. 3 to secure the doubles point.
O’Sullivan and Hill led the way again for the Hoyas in singles. O’Sullivan won his match 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 before Hill came through at No. 5 by the same score to put the Hoyas up 3-0 overall. Williams clinched the match for Georgetown with another 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 6.
Junior Sahil Morey and first-year Joshua Lamm-Bocharov also picked up wins to complete the rout. The Hoyas now sit at 2-1 in the Big East after the Marquette win and a 6-1 win over Butler University the previous Friday, March 13.
On Saturday, the men’s and women’s teams faced the University of Richmond Spiders, where they lost a battle. Things started well for the women’s team. However, they picked up both doubles matches with a 6-1 win by the senior duo of Ashley Kennedy and Paige Gilbert at No. 1 and a 6-2 victory by the first-year pair of Julia Chu and Ruhika Bhat at No. 2.
Junior Emily Novikov put the Hoyas up 2-0 after her 6-2, 6-0 clinic at No. 1 singles. Kennedy then fell 6-3, 7-5 at No. 4 to tighten things up, before junior Katie Garafolo-Ro also dropped her match 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3 to give Richmond the tie.
Bhat put the Hoyas on the brink of victory with a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 5, her sixth singles victory of the season, but that would be the last match the Hoyas won that day. Gilbert was bageled twice in her match, losing 6-0, 3-6, 6-0 at No. 6, before Chu failed to build on a tie-break win in her second set. She fell 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 at No. 2 as the Hoyas dropped a tight match 4-3.
The men competed against Richmond later that day, but did not put up as much of a fight as the women’s team. The Spiders took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3, before achieving a near-sweep in singles, winning five out of the six matches to complete a 6-1 victory over the Hoyas.
The lone bright spot for Georgetown’s men on Saturday was Lamm-Bocharov. He won at No. 2 doubles with sophomore James O’Sullivan, before also emerging victorious in three sets at No. 3 singles, prevailing 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Lamm-Bocharov leads Georgetown with seven singles wins this season, including an impressive 3-0 singles record in Big East play.
The men’s team continued their busy schedule the following Thursday when they traveled to Baltimore to face Loyola, eking out a 4-3 win in nailbiting fashion.
Pablo and James O’Sullivan got the Hoyas going with a 6-2 victory at No. 1 doubles, before Williams and Hill clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 victory at No. 3. Arthur O’Sullivan boosted Georgetown’s lead with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 1 singles, before Hill picked up a 6-1, 6-1 singles victory of his own at No. 3. Victories for Loyola at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 singles brought things to the wire, but Williams brought the Hoyas home with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 6.
After starting the spring season 1-11, the men’s team is trending upwards, with wins in three of their last four matches, as more crucial Big East matches and postseason play loom. The women have started the spring season 3-7, failing to pick up momentum thus far, but still have six matches, including four Big East clashes. Both teams face the Saint Joseph’s University Hawks (men’s 10-8, women’s 1-13) on March 29, in Philadelphia.
