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 | Men Host DePaul, Women Beat Navy

FILE PHOTO: ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA Senior Sophie Panarese and junior Liselot Koenen, not pictured, won the first doubles spot over Navy on Feb. 26.
FILE PHOTO: ALEXANDER BROWN/THE HOYA
Senior Sophie Panarese and junior Liselot Koenen, not pictured, won the first doubles spot over Navy on Feb. 26.

After taking over two weeks off from formal match play, the Georgetown men’s tennis team (3-1, 0-1 Big East) will face off against the DePaul Blue Demons (6-3, 2-0 Big East) today in Yates Field House.

The competition is one of the Hoyas’ two matches at home and their second Big East match of the season.

“[DePaul is] a solid team. They have feisty guys, they’re very competitive; usually they have some pretty good athletes who can really run and hit different shots and whatnot. The question will be: can we all step up at the same time? Everyone’s going to have to play their best tennis,” Head Coach Gordie Ernst said.

Though Georgetown’s last match took place on Feb. 7 against Marist (2-4), the Hoyas are still riding on the momentum from their close victory over the Red Foxes. After notching the doubles point, the Blue and Gray barely edged over the Foxes with the help of freshman Peter Beatty. Beatty, who is 2-1 in singles play thus far this season, beat Marist freshman Timo Tanzer in a three-set battle.

“The last time out, when you win, it gives you confidence. The guys are still sort of high from the win, and especially guys like Peter and Marco, the freshmen,” Ernst said. “The freshmen need to win to gain confidence. They’ve been doing pretty well.”

Now, the Hoyas will return to competition in their second conference match this year. After falling to St. John’s 6-1 on Feb. 6, Georgetown will look to bring its Big East record to an even 1-1. DePaul, coming off a 6-1 win over St. Bonaventure, will be strong competition for the Hoyas.

Historically, the Blue Demons have had strong squads on both the men’s and women’s side. The Hoyas and Blue Demons last played each other in last season’s Big East Tournament. Georgetown fell to DePaul 4-0.

Leading up to Friday’s match, Georgetown has been working to improve its doubles play, fitness and match mentality. While the time off from match play has given the Hoyas considerable time to practice, playing out points in matches will prove to be another challenge.

“We’ve been working on fitness, we’ve been working on doubles. … we’ll be ready I think, physically, [but] are we going to be used to the pressure of playing points?” Ernst said. “You lose a little bit of that by not playing. But I think that playing at home, playing at Yates, maybe we can catch them off guard a little bit.”

Beatty and fellow freshman Marco Lam have been among the standouts for the men’s team thus far. Both newcomers have exhibited impressive play and ability to compete at the collegiate level.

“The freshmen have come in and they’ve been everything you want freshmen to be,” Ernst said. “They step up in practice, they compete and they’re great guys to have around.”

The Georgetown women’s tennis team (6-2, 0-1 Big East) has also been in action, increasing its win streak to three matches after routing Navy yesterday in a 6-1 decision. Georgetown won five out of its six singles matches. Junior Logan Antill earned Navy’s only win on the day over Georgetown senior captain Sophie Panarese at the second singles spot in a tight three-set battle.

“We had a great win today. You hate to sound cliche, but it really is a team effort,” Ernst said. “We really just came together as a team, and we’re 6-2 now, and they’re beating teams that we’ve lost to in the past; like Navy has the same exact team — give or take one or two players — but last year they beat us 4-3 and this year we beat them 6-1.”

Sophomore Victoire Saperstein won her first singles match in three sets, beating Navy junior Samantha Droop. Freshmen Casey Marx and Daphne de Chatellus won their matches at sixth and fifth singles, respectively, each recording straight-set victories. Junior Liselot Koenen won her third singles match in three sets with a score of 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Sophomore Sophia Barnard also triumphed in singles, winning in a 6-4, 6-2 fashion.

Georgetown won two out of the three doubles matches, nabbing the crucial doubles point. Koenen and Panarese won at the first doubles spot, defeating Navy’s Summer Ralston and Claudia Mackenzie 8-4.  Saperstein and junior Taylor Perz fell at second doubles, but Barnard and Marx’s third doubles win solidified the point for Georgetown.

“It was a great job by the girls, I’m very proud of them,” Ernst said of the contest.

The men are slated to take the courts at Yates Field House at 10 a.m. today. The women’s next match will be on March 7 against Seton Hall.

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