Following last weekend’s disappointing trio of losses, the men’s tennis team (0-5) spent this week learning from what went wrong in Pennsylvania and preparing for Thursday’s home match against Emory (3-1).

“We had an inter-squad match on Friday to make it more like an actual match,” Head Coach Gordie Ernst said. “[We’re trying to] put the pressure on a bit.”

Although the Hoyas remain winless thus far, Ernst is not concerned about his team’s progress this season.

“We’re having more competitive matches,” he said. “We’re learning how to deal with pressure situations.”

With senior Bryan Miller back from injury and freshmen Casey Distaso and Alex Friedlich gaining more experience, Ernst knows that mental toughness will be the key to turning the season around.

“We have to be more mentally consistent, not just physically but mentally,” Ernst said. “We can’t take a point or a game off. We need to be mentally tough on each point.”

Georgetown will have a chance to test their development when they take on Emory on Thursday. The Eagles have started their season strong and head into the match having recently crushed Shorter University, Georgia Perimeter Junior College and Oglethorpe, all 8-1. Their only loss thus far came at the hands of Auburn-Montgomery University, which narrowly defeated Emory in a 5-4 match.

Ernst expects to see an opponent much like the one the Hoyas met last year in a 4-3 loss.

“[Emory] is one of the best Division III teams in the country, and they’ll give us a good match,” he said. “They could play with Georgetown or any Ivy League team. They’ll come in with something to prove, looking to knock off a Division I [team] from Division III. We have to be ready for that.”

A talented junior class leads Emory, the No. 4 Division III team in the country. Following the completion of the fall 2010 schedule, Eagles junior Dillon Pottish earned the No. 1 spot in the top 20 national singles rankings. Junior Chris Goodwin and senior Colin Egan earned No. 9 and No. 29, respectively.

The Blue and Gray have seen their fair share of talented opponents so far this season. Last weekend, Georgetown was nearly swept away by Stetson in a 6-1 loss. At the VCU 4+1 tournament in late January, Georgetown experienced similar defeat, falling to both Virginia Commonwealth and Campbell 5-0.

However, Ernst is confident that his key players have what it takes to buckle down and pick up their first win of the season.

“I think that once again [sophomore] Charlie Caris will give us a good performance along with [junior] Mikey Clarke,” Ernst said. “Mikey is coming into his own and is showing how much he’s matured. He’s a junior and is starting to realize that he doesn’t have a lot of time left. His practices and matches have been improving.”

Thursday’s match is set for an early 9 a.m. start at Regency Sport and Health Club in McLean, Va.