The Georgetown women’s tennis team put two easy matches against Towson and UMBC under their belt this week as they continue to prepare for the coming spring’s challenging Big East competition.
The women triumphed against a strong UMBC squad last night, dropping only one singles and one doubles match. The three freshmen in the top six?Liddy Bartell, Trina Snow and Liora Gelblum?were the first singles matches to finish in the decisive 5-2 win.
Gelblum, whose 6-2, 6-2 victory over Anita Pushpanathan at the No. 1 spot improved her fall record to 13-1, believes her extensive experience in junior national tournaments has contributed to her great success.
“National competition prepared me really well, because it’s extreme competition. I think it is a lot harder, and that’s why I’ve done so well here [at college]. It made me match tough. I know how to really stay in a point,” she said
Bartell, who came back from a three-game deficit in the first set to win 7-6 (3), 6-2, agrees with Gelblum, but adds that college competition has also improved her tennis.
“National tournaments are harder, because you’re playing people who hit like twice a day. But I was kind of caught off guard by the more untraditional strokes you see in college tennis. Its more unpredictable,” she said.
Against UMBC, Snow blanked Carolyn Vamasiri, 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 5 position, and senior Caroline Marshall downed Aimee Lim, 7-5, 6-0 at No. 4. At the No. 3 spot, sophomore Jordan Botjer lost a tight match to Lana Khvalina, 4-6, 6-3, 5-10, but triumphed 8-4 in doubles with partner Chelsea Kammerer. Gelblum and Bartell, however, struggled in doubles competition, dropping their match 2-8.
Though winning two out of the three doubles matches gives a team only one point in their overall score, Head Coach Rich Bausch says the Hoyas must improve their doubles play if they hope to earn a berth in the Big East Championships this spring.
“Seventy-five percent of the time, the team who wins a 4-3 match won the doubles point,” Bausch said. “I think doubles is the only way we will make it to the Big East tournament.”
According to Bausch, the team’s difficulties stem from the fact that many of the younger players have not been exposed to good doubles competition.
“It’s not that our pairings are bad, it’s that they don’t know how to play doubles together yet,” he explained. “Instead of pushing their doubles boundaries, they revert to what they’re comfortable with, which is hitting singles shots.”
At the Baltimore-Washington Challenge on Oct. 20th, the Hoyas dropped only one set to Towson, cruising to a 7-0 victory. Bartell had the closest singles match, dropping the first set but defeating Lindsay Brown, 3-6, 6-4, 10-5. Georgetown also pulled out all three of their closely-contested doubles matches in the blow-out.
Bausch is happy with his team’s overall performance. “I think singles play has really improved,” he said. “Players who were overly passive now understand the need to be consistently aggressive.”
The Hoyas are optimistic about their Big East prospects.
“I’m really excited for the spring,” says Gelblum. “I know its going to be harder, but I’m looking forward to testing myself against the best players in the conference.”
Georgetown’s recent wins have also given Bausch confidence. “Unfortunately, I don’t think the Towson match compares to anything we’ll face in the spring. But the UMBC match does, because they had four strong players. Our success against them bodes well for what will come in Big East play.”
