The Georgetown women’s tennis team finished out a successful fall season last weekend, competing in both singles and doubles at the prestigious ITA Regional Championships.
First-year Liora Gelblum, who has held the No. 1 position for the Hoyas all season, was placed in the main draw, where she handily defeated Pittsburgh’s Jill Williams, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round. She fell to the tournament’s ninth seed, William and Mary’s Delphine Troch, in the second round.
Gelblum, whose record now stands at 14-2, says she was not at all disappointed with her performance in the 3-6, 5-7 loss.
“I definitely felt like I could have won the second set. It came down to just a couple of points,” she said. “I’m used to that kind of competition from national tournaments. It was a very close match.”
Sophomore Jordan Botjer and first-year Liddy Bartell entered the qualifying tournament on Friday. Botjer struggled against Boston College’s Alison Ashley, losing 1-6, 2-6 in the first round.
Bartell trounced Niagara’s Colleen Willick in her first match, winning 6-0, 6-0, but lost her second to Cornell’s Daniela Del Prete, 0-6, 6-1, 1-6, narrowly missing a berth in the main draw.
Bartell has fought out several tough three-setters this season, but says giving up is never an option, even when she is down a set.
“I always keep working, because I know that the first few games of the second set are the most important for winning a three-set match,” she said. “I felt really good about the way I played.”
In the doubles qualifier, Bartell and senior team captain Caroline Marshall faced Penn in the first round, falling to the experienced duo of Shelah Chao and Kate Williams, 1-8. The Hoyas’ No. 1 doubles team, Botjer and sophomore Chelsea Kammerer, also suffered a first round defeat, losing 3-8 to UVA’s Christine Kim and Henriette Williams in the main draw.
Despite the weekend’s tough loss, Kammerer thinks she and Botjer have a formula for success.
“It helps that we’re friends off the court,” says the transfer from Michigan. “Jordan has a year of college tennis experience that I don’t have, and her overall game is so strong and consistent. I feel confident when I’m at net and she’s serving, and that allows me to poach which really seems to work for us.”
The invitational tournament, hosted this year by the University of Pennsylvania, attracts many of the top schools in the country, including the Ivy Leagues and such perennial tennis powerhouses at William and Mary and UVA.
“I know [Head Coach Rick] Bausch was really happy with the way we played,” said Gelblum. “It was a good way to end the fall season.”
The Georgetown women will not compete again until Feb. 2, when they face hometown rival George Washington, but the team knows there is work to be done in the offseason.
“We need to work on our fitness, doubles and match play so we can win the tie-breaks and the three-setters, the little things that make a big difference,” says Bartell.
“Everyone is really motivated to work hard over the winter. Going to tournaments like the ITA Championships makes us realize how far we have to go and how good we can be.”
No matter what the spring’s Big East competition holds for the Hoyas, Kammerer is convinced the season will be a rewarding one.
“This team has so much fun together,” she said. “And that makes it all worthwhile.”
