The Georgetown men dropped a tough 4-3 decision Thursday to a Hampton squad that had no freshmen and only one sophomore on its roster, while the women were swept 7-0 by a Pirates’ side whose seven-player roster featured four seniors.
The lone senior on the men’s team, Bert Baggio, saw his first action of the season, dropping a 6-2, 6-1 decision at No. 5 singles. Eileen Boyle, the women’s only senior, did not play because she was hobbled by a foot injury.
In terms of coaching experience, Hampton also had a decided advantage. Georgetown Head Coach Gordie Ernst is in his first year with the program, while the Pirates’ Head Coach, Robert artin Screen, has been with Hampton for 35 years.
The young Georgetown men (5-5) came out hot, as they won the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead over Hampton (4-7). As the Hoyas finished up a win at No. 3 doubles and a loss on the No. 1 court, sophomore Adam Gross and freshman Will Lowell stood in the center court with a 5-4 lead in a race to eight and the fate of the doubles point resting on their rackets. The duo responded to the pressure, winning the next three sets for an 8-4 victory.
“We try not to think about [the pressure]; we try to play every point the same and just be aggressive,” Gross said. “In the end we stepped it up, got a couple breaks, and we ended up pulling it out.”
In the singles play, Lowell was shut down in No. 1 singles, and sophomore Kenny Wong lost in straight sets in the sixth flight singles. When Baggio dropped his match, the remaining three Hoyas were all in must-win positions.
Though he battled in his first set, junior Jeff Schnell was unable to hang on at No. 3 singles as he dropped the deciding match 7-6, 6-3. Gross and junior Ted Tywang both won their singles matches to give them two wins on the day, and they both won in doubles. Though the match was decided, Gross did not lose his intensity and needed to win 11 games in his third-set to garner a 2-6, 6-2, 11-9 comeback win.
Screen, who has been around tennis for a long time, was impressed with the young Hoyas and pleased with the non-conference competition. “We were not consistent with our serves. We were hitting first serves in the wrong place and that was disturbing,” Screen said. “Georgetown has given us something to work on. We are just trying to prepare to do well in our conference.”
On the women’s side, Georgetown fell to 1-9 while Hampton improved to 3-4 on the season.
Though junior Steph Cohen and sophomore Courtney Olsen won their doubles match easily, 8-1, Hampton overpowered Georgetown in the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles to take the point.
“The women showed good depth, but I was disappointed in my No. 2 team. My No. 1 and 3 teams continued their consistency, and that’s what you need to win,” Screen said about Hampton’s doubles play – their key to victory.
Georgetown was anything but consistent, as they were swept in the singles, but there were several bright spots for the home team. Cohen played senior Katerina Jiskrova point for point in No. 2 singles, only to see her hard work go for naught as Jiskrova pulled out a 7-5, 5-6(4), 7-5 win. Junior Liz Winokur took a page out of Gross’ book, continuing to fight for a win despite the fact that the outcome of the dual match had long since been decided. Winokur, however, came up on the wrong end of a third set marathon, losing 5-7, 6-3, 11-9 to Hampton senior Jana Korycankova.
As he has all season, Ernst is using strong competition to prepare his squads for runs at the Big East tournament games. The onarch men are 10-4 and ranked 25th in the nation while the women’s side boasts a 10-2 record.
The Hoyas will have another quick turnaround on the women’s side after the Old Dominion match, as they play host to Rutgers in a Big East contest at the McDonough Tennis Complex Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Georgetown is 0-2 in Big East play.
The men will have a little more time to rest, as they take on Rutgers at 11 a.m. at the McDonough Tennis Complex on Sunday morning. The match will be the Big East opener for the Hoyas.
