Some things just don’t go as planned.
The Georgetown men’s tennis team did not have the spring they had hoped for—they won only 4 out of their 19 matches. Luckily, the team can wash away the sour taste left over from the season as soon as today, when they will travel to play some of the best teams in the country at the Big East tournament in Tampa, Florida. In the first round, the Hoyas will take on the tournament’s overwhelming favorite, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. But as we’ve seen their football and basketball teams collapse in the past year, it might not be surprising to see the tennis team follow suit.
The Hoyas were dealt some bad luck early in the season. One of their best players, junior Will Lowell, suffered an injury, and the presumptive best player on campus, Anthony Tan, decided not to play this season. Coach Gordie Ernst has had to find some talent to fill in the top spots—fortunately for him, freshmen Michael Clarke and Andrew Bruhn have stepped up and contributed to the team early on in their college careers. Clarke, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, comes to the Hilltop with high praise—he was previously nominated for Sportsman of the Year in his home country.
“The other day he beat George Washington’s best player. He’s showed he’s gained experience from his losses this year,” Ernst said.
Bruhn comes from UConn territory—Storrs, Connecticut—but he definitely shows more promise on the court than the Huskies did in the Final Four.
“We’re building for the future. We’re just going to continue to remain positive,” Ernst said.
If the Hoyas are building for the future, their young guns will need to take some advice from seniors Kevin Walsh, Adam Gross, and Kenny Wong, the anchors of the team for the last four years.
“We’re going to miss them. They are perfect examples to the younger guys of what college tennis is about—it’s going out and battling,” Ernst said.
The upperclassmen have helped their teammates get through the long season—a season which has had more ups and downs than an Alex Rodriguez off-season. College tennis isn’t your normal country club sport with lemonade and preppy polos; in a beastly conference like the Big East, every day is a grind, and over a long season there is a lot of wear and tear on the body.
“At the college level, everyone gives it their all because they’re representing their school, and they don’t want to throw it away,” Clarke said.
So the Hoyas know what they’re getting into today when they face the Fighting Irish. They’re the David to Notre Dame’s Goliath, but as has happened many times in the history of sports, David has a chance to knock off Goliath.
“Our guys have continued to fight, and they are going to play no-pressure, loose tennis knowing that all the pressure is on them,” Ernst said. “It would be a fantastic win for the program.”
