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

Tennis | Women Seek 4th Straight Win

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Sophomore Risa Nakagawa defeated her No. 3 DePaul counterpart 6-4, 6-4 in her last outing April 8. The women close out their regular season this weekend on the road at Villanova on Saturday. (FILE PHOTO: STEPHANIE YUAN/THE HOYA)
With the Big East Championship scheduled to begin April 27, both the Georgetown men’s and women’s tennis teams have only two matches remaining. Both teams cap off the regular season with away matches against Big East rival Villanova on Saturday.
Before its match against Villanova (7-15, 1-3 Big East), the Georgetown women’s tennis team (11-4, 1-1 Big East) will host Navy (17-10, 4-2 AAC) on Friday. The women have not played a match since its strong victory against DePaul (12-7, 3-2 Big East) on April 8. Georgetown’s 4-3 victory over DePaul marked the team’s third consecutive win.
The Hoyas’ victory against the Blue Demons, who have won the Big East two of the past three years, demonstrates that the Hoyas can compete with the top teams in the conference.
“I like our chances because we’re so competitive and this has been a goal of ours, especially for the seniors, for four years. We’re just going to go down there and give it our all,” Head Coach Gordie Ernst said.
In contrast to the women’s team, the Georgetown men’s tennis team (7-12, 0-2 Big East) has struggled for much of the season, but the team has improved as of late. Georgetown’s last match on April 13 was a close loss to Emory University (14-4) by a score of 5-2, halting the Hoyas’ winning streak at three.
The Hoyas narrowly missed out on the doubles point. At the number one position, junior Marco Lam won the first set but then starting cramping and dropped the two remaining sets.
 “Some cramping and an injury, and we lose. But with everyone going, with everyone healthy and with everyone battling, I like to say we win that match,” Ernst said.
Ernst also cited the close doubles matches as a reason for the Hoyas’ loss, noting that the team had several match points in the doubles matches.
The men’s team looks to rebound from its loss to Emory in its final two matches before the conference tournament. Georgetown played George Washington (15-6, 1-1 A-10) on Thursday,  losing 4-2 behind strong singles play from the Colonials’ top three players.
On Saturday, the men will travel to Villanova (13-9, 0-1 Big East) to conclude the regular season. Although the men’s team has not had the success that the women’s team has seen this season, Ernst is still optimistic about the team’s chances in the tournament.
“We’re so excited. The Big East is wide open: There’s no real, clear front-runner. Everyone is somewhat even. We lost to St. John’s and Xavier, but even those matches were tight. This is first year in a long time where there isn’t one team that stands out,” Ernst said.
Although the Big East is rapidly approaching, Georgetown’s focus remains on the Villanova match. The Georgetown women’s team will also compete against Villanova in Philadelphia on Friday.
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