Christina Hsiang/The Hoya Junior Bert Baggio delivers a crushing forehand in the Hoyas’ match against Conneticut. Georgetown won the match, and the next day’s against Villanova, 7-0.
The Hoyas tasted victory for the first time this season in a big weekend for Georgetown tennis. After disappointing routs at the hands of Navy and Maryland-College Park, both the men’s and women’s teams put together strong performances against Connecticut on Saturday and Villanova on Sunday.
The men (2-4, 2-1 Big East) coasted through both matches, 7-0, while the women (1-3, 1-2 Big East) had to claw through two tough 4-3 matches, falling to Connecticut on Saturday but pulling out a win in the final set against Villanova on Sunday.
“It was a pretty easy match, solid all around, can’t really complain,” said junior Kevin Killeavy after defeating Christian Malerba of Connecticut, 6-1, 6-1.
Killeavy’s easy win was the theme of the day for the men. Sophomore Etienne Paris was victorious 6-1, 6-1 in first singles while sophomore Ted Tywang played the best match of the day, dropping no sets en route to a 6-0, 6-0 win in third singles.
Killeavy who leads the team in singles wins, however, was quick to say that “Ted Tywang was the hero of the day,” on a day when the Hoyas could afford to claim heroes instead of losses.
Senior Eric Conrad was responsible for a gritty win in second singles. His seemingly easy 6-2, 6-2 victory was the toughest of the day for any Hoya player.
Playing with what he called “a couple of broken knuckles,” Conrad was still able to dominate his opponent but paid for it afterward, icing his bruised and swollen hand as soon as he left the court.
Junior captain Robert Baggio rallied the team with an inspired win to close the day, hitting a sliding backhanded winner and losing his racket in the process in the last match of the day.
“I made an impossible shot today. I didn’t think I could make it. I still can’t believe I hit that shot,” Baggio said. While only playing fifth singles, Baggio still rallied his teammates with the incredible shot and subsequent victory giving the team the momentum they needed entering a must-win match against Villanova the following day.
The women’s team had less than stellar performances in the cold and windy weather, losing the doubles point as well the first, fifth and sixth singles points.
At times the team lacked focus and was not nearly as cohesive or excited as the men’s team, who stood by and cheered loudly for their teammates from the fences around the court.
They came out of the gate flat and were unable to recover from the loss in doubles play.
While the men rolled over the Huskies, the women’s match against Connecticut appeared to be over before it began, as the Hoyas fell 4-3. Sophomore Stephanie Cohen was the only Hoya to put up a struggle, but it came in a losing effort, as she forced three sets, winning the first by a 6-3 margin.
But Georgetown rebounded against Villanova Sunday, taking the Wildcats 4-3 on the day. Cohen, despite dropping both matches on the weekend said, “It’s good to get a win, finally.”
After two close matches in cold, gusty weather, a win for the women’s team against Big East rival Villanova gave the team hope for what was once thought to be a lost season.
Freshman Taylor Martin, the women’s savior against Villanova, said, “I played horribly [against Connecticut] so I wasn’t really nervous going into the match today.”
Martin’s inspired play and a comeback from being down 2-1 in the final set sealed the win for Georgetown. After all but the third and sixth singles matches had finished, all eyes were glued to the results of the match between Georgetown freshman Courtney Olsen and Wildcat freshman Jaclyn Williamson. If Olsen could win the match before Martin’s match reached the third set, artin’s match would be condensed to a 10-point tiebreaker because the team match would have already been decided. Olsen dropped a marathon match 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-7 (4), however, setting the stage for a deciding third set in Martin’s match.
Both players were clearly tired, putting together long strings of soft lobs and tame slices instead of the expected back-and-forth volleys that one expects at a tennis match
After admitting to being unfocused the day before in her 6-1, 6-2 loss, Martin said she made a conscious effort to “play tennis.”
“I didn’t know what the score was at that point but I kind of figured that’s what it was. I made myself forget it though because I just wanted to stay in the match and try to win it,” Martin said after completing her three hour match to give the Hoya women hope to qualify for the Big East tournament in Florida.
On Sunday, the men cruised to another 7-0 win to clinch a berth in postseason play.
“I’m just really glad we won today and get to go to Florida,” Paris said. “I’m from Miami so it’s like going home for me. If we didn’t make the tournament the season would have been a disappointment, completely. Just a complete failure.”
Inspired play through injury, biting wind and cold and mental blocks have put Hoya tennis in a position to participate in post-season play after a tumultuous beginning to the season. After the earlier resignation of 27-year veteran Richard Bausch over the semester break left the Hoyas in an unforeseen and uncomfortable position, they have managed to find a way back to competitiveness under acting coach Brook Deming.
Undoubtedly Paris played as big a part as any Hoya, winning both first singles and first doubles matches he played in. He quickly deferred credit to his teammates and coach Deming, however. “I’m really proud of the guys even though we haven’t really had a coach,” he said. “We all came through with the help of Brook. Obviously, it was a big weekend.”
The men’s team will play Thursday against Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., while the women take on Amherst today at the McDonough Tennis Courts.