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

Weekend Victories Mark Improvements Under Ernst

Everyone likes getting something new. And this weekend the Georgetown men’s tennis team racked in an impressive win with a crop of new players, while the women’s team brought home a fresh victory to begin the spring season.

The Georgetown men (3-3) split their two dual matches this weekend, losing 5-2 to Maryland (2-0) on Friday before defeating Navy 5-2 on Saturday. Last season, the Hoyas lost 7-0 to both teams.

“It was everyone, but the story of the weekend was really the freshmen,” Head Coach GordieErnst said.

Freshman David Tillem and junior Ted Tywang won their doubles match against their Maryland counterparts, while senior Jeff Schnell and sophomore Kevin Walsh dropped their matches. Tied at 6-6 in a race to eight, freshmen Anthony Tan and Will Lowell won their match, giving Georgetown a 1-0 advantage over Maryland heading into the singles. The Terrapins’ senior Boris Fetbroyt and freshman David Kwon, however, hung on for an 8-6 victory.

Tan and Schnell won their No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, but the rest of the Hoyas lost their singles matches. Despite the loss on the day, Ernst was pleased with some of the individual plays he saw.

“[Tan] beat a guy who is the No. 1 player from Maryland, the No. 60 college player from last year and who won the national 18-and-under championship on clay courts,” Ernst said. “That’s a really big win for Georgetown individually.”

With less than 24 hours before their next competition, the team had to hustle from College Park, Md., to Annapolis for their match against Navy (3-2).

Ernst said he was pleased with all aspects of the Hoyas’ play against the Midshipmen, but the doubles stood out.

In the opening doubles matches, Georgetown seemed to be having a case of deja vu. Tillem and Tywang won their match and Schnell and Walsh dropped theirs, leaving Tan and Lowell with the decisive match. Tied at 6-6 again, the freshmen proved their worth as they took a 9-7 victory to give the Hoyas a 1-0 advantage heading into singles play.

Another newcomer to the team, junior Jeffrey Schnell, who transferred to Georgetown from American University this year, won his second singles match of the weekend at No. 2 singles against sophomore Jason Hill.

The Midshipmen came within two points when Tan dropped the No. 1 singles match to Navy freshman Nate Nelms, but Georgetown sophomore Adam Gross put the contest away with a 6-2, 6-4 sweep of senior Adrian Lai.

“We have a young bunch of guys who just want it and want it badly,” Ernst said.

Navy Head Coach John Officer, who is in his 22nd year with the idshipmen, told Ernst this season’s was the most competitive Georgetown team he has ever seen.

After the two dual matches in 24 hours, Ernst had no time to celebrate the results, as the women played host to James Madison Saturday evening. On the women’s side, the Hoyas (1-4) were equally as successful, as they picked up their first win of the spring season with a 4-3 decision over the Dukes.

Last season, Georgetown lost a 6-1 contest to James Madison, and the Hoyas are 0-4 in their last four matches against the Dukes.

The Hoyas went down 1-0 after they lost the doubles point, but they were able to win the top four singles flights. Junior Liz Winokur won the deciding match over freshman Rebecca Erickson in a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 three-set thriller.

“In the singles, [Winokur] was the last match on, it was 3-3 [in the third set] at 10:30 at night. She’s sick, [Erickson] was starting to really push her around and she just hung tough and won the third set,” Ernst said.

Sophomore Courtney Olsen was equally impressive for the Hoyas, winning a 6-0, 6-2 match over the Dukes’ No. 1 singles player senior Mary Napier.

The women open Big East play at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday against Pittsburgh (1-0) at the Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va.

The men hit the courts again Friday as they travel to the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center in Philadelphia, Pa., to take on St. Joseph’s in the Hawk’s first dual match of the year. The match is set for 6 p.m.

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