The Georgetown men’s and women’s tennis teams have finally found their footing. After uneven play early in the season that led to rough losses, the teams and their performances are finally coming together. In the past two weeks both the men and women were able to secure their first victories of the season over local rival George Mason and their matches in the Big East have been close, with tight scores and improved quality of play.
“This was far and away our best match of the year,” said Head Coach Rich Bausch of the men’s performance at Rutgers on Feb. 22, a 4-3 loss; later the team bettered that performance by posting its first win the next week.
The men, in their fourth away contest in a row, got off to their strongest start of the year against Rutgers. In their first Big East match, the Hoyas swept the doubles competition to jump out to an early 1-0 lead. Senior Dennis Cravedi and junior Erik Bildman, playing No. 1 doubles, dropped their opponents 8-4, as did the duo of freshman Eddie Carver and sophomore Eric Conrad at No. 3 doubles. Freshmen Scott Faust and Kevin Killeavy also pulled out a victory in their doubles match, winning the tiebreak 9-8.
The Hoyas were looking to carry the momentum of their doubles sweep into singles, but Rutgers would not fall without a fight. Scarlet Knight sophomore Tyler Deming downed Cravedi in straight sets at No. 1 singles, and despite winning their opening sets, both Faust and Killeavy fell in three sets in their singles matches as well. Rutgers sealed their victory with a win at No. 4 doubles over Carver, but the Hoyas were resilient and battled back to close the day on a high note, with three-set wins from Conrad and Bildman to finish the contest.
Bausch was especially pleased with Conrad’s win in singles at Rutgers.
“It was an important win,” Bausch said. “He hadn’t been playing anywhere near his capabilities, but in this match he gave himself a chance to win.”
In the same weekend that the men were facing Rutgers, the women were in Pittsburgh taking on the Panthers. After a loss to St. John’s to open Big East play, the women were looking to pick up a win to bring their conference record to .500, but the Panthers would not yield and took the match 5-2.
The women also started their day off well, playing strong in doubles, something they had failed to do earlier in the season. Freshmen Eileen Boyle and Nora Gardner defeated their opponents 8-4 in No. 3 doubles and the top pairs of seniors Jordan Botjer and Lara Madonia and sophomore Kristin Dew and freshman Sana Malouf each fell in close matches, 8-6, that could have gone either way.
“We played great in doubles,” said Bausch. “Eileen and Nora made adjustments and overloaded the weaker player on the other team.”
In singles, Boyle continued her outstanding season with a win over Panther junior Konita Jude, extending her winning streak to three straight singles victories. Madonia, at No. 2 singles, picked up the Hoyas’ only other win on the day, defeating her opponent 6-3, 6-0.
“That was Laura [Madonia’s] best match in two years,” said Bausch.
This weekend, both the men and women finally picked up their elusive first wins over George Mason on Saturday, and then each team promptly turned around and dropped their next matches to No. 38 North Carolina and West Virginia on Sunday.
Playing host to both the men’s and women’s teams from George Mason, Georgetown dominated the play, with a 7-0 victory by the men and a 6-1 win for the women.
The men played their singles matches first, followed by doubles, which seemed to have worked out well. The men swept the singles competition, dropping only one set on the afternoon. In the following doubles matches, the Hoyas again came away with a clean sweep, taking the matches 8-5, 8-4, 8-2. The women, who played doubles first as normal, also swept the Patriots. Dew and Malouf fell behind in their match 4-1, but rebounded to win 9-7 in the end. In singles, the Hoyas continued to dominate, securing their first victory with wins in all but one singles match. Boyle again picked up a victory for her fourth in a row.
On Sunday both the men and women continued their play, with the men traveling to No. 38 North Carolina and the women remaining at home to play host to Big East rival West Virginia. Despite coming off strong wins on Saturday, both the men and women dropped their Sunday contests at 6-1 and 7-0, respectively.
The Tarheels, one of the ACC’s best, proved to be too much for the Hoyas. The men were swept in doubles and Bildman was the only player to win his singles match. The women also struggled on Sunday, failing to pick up a win against the Mountaineers. Even with a loss, Botjer played well on the afternoon at No. 1 singles, competing hard against West Virginia sophomore Melissa Day. In a match that lasted over two hours, Botjer battled back from a first set loss to take the second set. After falling behind 3-0 in the last set, Botjer fought her way to a tiebreak, ultimately losing the match 7-5 in a tough defeat.
After a busy past few weeks, the Hoyas will take a short rest before they resume Big East play. The men’s tennis team next plays on March 10 at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., and the women will travel to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on March 18 for their next contest.