The Georgetown Women’s tennis team its kick off their fall season Sept. 26 at the Bucknell Invitational in Lewisburg, Pa., a tournament that the Hoyas dominated last year. The team will participate in six tournaments in the next two months as they prepare for Big East competition and the Big East Championship this spring.
Georgetown rebounded from an abysmal 1-7 Big East record two years ago to finish 4-2 in the Big East and 6-7 overall last spring. The Hoyas graduated former captain Caroline Marshall, but eight of the nine women on the roster are returning players. Sophomore Liora Gelblum finished last season with a 16-10 record and will most likely start at the No. 1 position. Junior Jordan Botjer and sophomores Trina Snow and Liddy Bartell will compete for the second through fourth spots.
The only newcomer to the team is junior Joy Watcharaumnuay.
“Joy struggled in try-outs last year, but she played very thoughtfully this year,” said Head Coach Rich Bausch. “She really set herself apart from the other potential new players.”
Bausch will look to Botjer and fellow junior Lara Madonia to lead the team through the fall and spring seasons.
“Jordan and Lara have two years of serious experience,” he said. “They were here for the debacle year and the resurgence last year. They have matured quickly and seen a lot, which makes them a good sounding board for their teammates.”
Madonia is excited for her leadership role. “I work really hard and I want those with even more talent than I have to see what you can do with hard work. I hope I can pass that on,” she said.
“I think I’m ready,” added Botjer. “We have [senior Meredith Bumpass] and other juniors who will be instrumental in helping lead the team. Everyone knows the drill, everyone is familiar with Rich’s coaching style and the intensity of the season.”
This fall, the team will be focusing on improving its doubles play, which was sometimes shaky last season. “We still have a pretty young team, and we’ll have some doubles teams that haven’t played together before,” said Botjer.
“[The team’s] main strength is that tactically, they’re good singles players,” said Bausch. “Fitness-wise they could be better. Our success is predicated on how well we can play in the third sets of singles matches, especially if we’re behind after doubles.”
“There are a lot of injuries, maybe even already,” said Madonia. “We’ll be doing a lot of running and drilling really hard, because in the spring you have two or three head-to-head matches in a row, and by the end your body is totally broken down. If we use the fact that we have fewer matches in the fall to get in shape, we’ll make it through.”
Botjer agrees. “Last year we did workouts together outside of practice and everyone liked the team aspect of getting in shape,” she said. “The problem was that we started too late. Everyone needs to work out over Christmas break so we don’t come back, push too hard and get hurt.”
Experience will be one of the team’s biggest assets this season. “We’re an older and more experienced group this year,” said junior Stephanie Sutton. “It was a learning process last year and now we are a team in many ways?we’re friends, we compete together, we’re working towards a common goal.”
Georgetown was denied a birth in the Big East Championship last season after a heartbreaking loss to Rutgers. “Last year, we had five freshmen and seven new players on the team,” said Bausch. “Even though we were inexperienced, to have been on the threshold of the Big East Championship is amazing. Three out of six teams [who went to the Big East Championship] went to the NCAA Championship.”
Players and coach agree that the biggest matches of the year will come against Big East rivals West Virginia, Rutgers and the University of Connecticut. “We had opportunities to capitalize on against Rutgers and UConn last year, and I feel like we have a good shot if we beat them,” Sutton said.
In a conference as strong as the Big East, Bausch says that the Hoyas’ success is not entirely under their control. “There are six spots in the Championship and seven scholarship teams. We have to play better this year, but even if we do, realistically it may be hard for us to beat teams like West Virginia, who will have brought in at least six scholarship players. But it’s so meaningful when we qualify and get to battle a team like Syracuse or Notre Dame.”
Despite the obstacles Georgetown will face in Big East competition, Madonia is confident that fall tournament play will prepare the team well. “Just the experience of the tournaments brings the team closer together … all these matches in the fall will only make us more determined,” she said.
