Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

TENNIS | Hoyas Set to Take On Conference Foes

ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA

With only a few short weeks until the Big East tournament, the Georgetown men’s and women’s tennis teams will face conference matchups versus the Xavier Musketeers (9-9, 0-2 Big East) and the Seton Hall Pirates (10-6, 2-1 Big East) on Friday at home.

The men (6-8) face Xavier after their first win since late February. The dominant 6-1 victory over Mary Washington ended Georgetown’s five-match losing streak after falling to the Yale, Bryant and UC Santa Barbara, among others over the past few weeks. Although Mary Washington is a Division III program, the match still helped prepare the team for more competitive matchups going forward.

“We had to play a match where we were the heavy favorite, and they put together a competitive group. We played with all the pressure, and I think we handled that well,” Head Coach Gordie Ernst said.

The Hoyas will look to build upon this momentum in their first conference match of the year against the Musketeers, according to Ernst.

“Winning is a contagious, learned habit, so if we can build on winning there then that’ll make the guys more confident when we play basically an even team. It’s a big match so I think it’ll help,” Ernst said.

On the same day, the women (7-8, 1-2 Big East) will face Seton Hall. The Hoyas look to bring their regular season record and their conference record to an even .500. Although the Blue and Gray dominated the Providence Friars (4-10, 0-3 Big East) last week in a 7-0 sweep, they struggled against St. John’s (7-6, 2-0 Big East) and No. 25 DePaul (17-1, 2-0 Big East) earlier in the year. Seton Hall has fared moderately well in the Big East this season, defeating Providence and Villanova, but it also fell to DePaul. Last year the Hoyas edged out the Pirates in a 5-2 decision.

“We always have competitive matches with them. Last year it was very close. So far this is the biggest match of the season for the girls,” Ernst said.

Freshman Victoire Saperstein will look to improve her 5-2 record in the first singles slot. Senior co-captain Madeline Jaeger has won three matches in a row at number three singles after defeating Rachel Nelson of James Madison last weekend. Freshman Sophia Barnard has won six of her last seven matches, the majority of which she competed in the fourth slot for the Hoyas.

Though singles performances have been strong, the Hoyas’ doubles game needs focus and improvement going into the latter stages of the season. Ernst mentioned the importance of knowing doubles strategy and utilizing it in a variety of situations.

“It’s about repetition, so they just sort of memorize where to go at certain times,” Ernst said. “At the same time, play a little more relaxed out there. They’re so seasoned at this point, and we’re pretty confident right now.”

As a new member of the Big East, Xavier represents an unfamiliar opponent for the men’s team. In contrast, Seton Hall will be a familiar foe for the women’s side.

“It’s two big matches for Friday,” Ernst said.

The matches are set to take place on Georgetown’s McDonough courts beginning at 12:00 p.m. Friday.

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