Heading into their matchup against Big East rival Georgetown, who posted an undefeated record of 7-0, the men’s tennis team was prepared to face a challenge. Villanova jumped on Georgetown in the early moments of the match, capturing the first doubles spots. Juniors Dimitri Chimerakis and Sean Daly turned in stellar performances, overmatching Georgetown’s Etienne Paris and Kevin Walsh in a 9-7 victory. This marked ‘Nova’s only win of the match. Georgetown’s next two doubles teams recorded victories of 8-6 and 8-4, respectively, earning Georgetown the overall doubles point.

Heading into the single matches, Daly and sophomore Brian Maher looked to produce solid performances to propel Villanova ahead of Georgetown. However, both Daly and Maher’s efforts fell short, placing the Wildcats behind the Hoyas three points to none. Daly nearly pulled off a victory against Georgetown’s Jeffrey Schnell in the first singles matchup, capturing the second set before falling in the third set, 6-3. Although Georgetown captured all the remaining singles matches to secure a 7-0 victory, Villanova remained competitive in every match, forcing three matches to go to three sets.

Chimerakis and freshman Brett Tobin produced solid performances, each forcing three-set matches. Chimerakis captured an exciting first set at 7-6 before losing the second set at 0-6 and the super tiebreaker at 5-10. Meanwhile, Tobin, who captured the first set 7-6 over Georgetown’s Bert Baggio, fell in three sets, losing the last two sets 4-6 and 3-6. Before the Georgetown match, Villanova was undefeated in Big East play, capturing victories over Connecticut, Rutgers and St. John’s. The defeat pushed Villanova’s overall record to 4-8 (3-1 Big East).

The Wildcats luck did not improve as they traveled up to Vermont on Saturday to take on Middlebury. Villanova got swept by the Division III College Men, 9-0. Chimerakis played the team’s best match, taking the No. 4 singles match against Kevin Bergesen to three sets before losing.

Villanova ended its losing streak on Monday as it defeated Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. The Wildcats defeated the Bobcats 5-2.

The key to victory for Villanova was its strong doubles play. The ‘Cats were victorious in all three of their doubles matchups, led by the combo of Daly and Chimerakis taking down Quinnipiac’s top duo, 8-4. Daly and Maher also won the first and second singles matches, respectively.

On Tuesday, the ‘Cats won their second straight with a 7-0 home victory over Sacret Heart.

‘Nova looks to continue its winning streak as it hosts the University of Maryland-Baltimore County today. The Retrievers of America East Conference enter the match with an impressive record of 10-5-1.