The men’s and women’s tennis teams came out of another competitive weekend with opposite results. 

While the men’s team took a 6-1 victory over Rider, the women fell, 7-0, to Delaware. 

In their tough loss against the Blue Hens, the women were swept in both the singles and doubles matches. However, there were a few noteworthy successes in what was a disappointing day for the Wildcats.

In the doubles matches the third duo of junior Bella Steffen and senior Amanda Rivera-González had a close and competitive game. They ended up losing 6-4 against Delaware’s duo. 

Rivera-González proved to be a bright spot in the singles matches, as well as having the closest game. She lost her two sets 6-4 and 6-3 respectively in the sixth spot for the Wildcats. 

 “The third doubles were a bright spot and very competitive,” head coach Steve Reiniger said. “Amanda Rivera-González played a competitive match.” 

The women’s team was without one of its best players, freshman Maggie Gehrig, which may have contributed to the lopsided outcome. 

Gehrig won’t return until later this spring, so the Wildcats will need to find some success elsewhere. 

Despite the loss, the Wildcats are still looking forward to what’s to come. 

“I’m hoping that when we hit spring break, when we have Creighton and Butler, we’re at our best,” Reiniger said. 

The women will take on Howard in their next matchup, Saturday Feb. 18. 

As for the men’s team, it had a successful weekend, securing a 6-1 win over Rider, and showing much improvement after their 6-1 loss against Penn State last weekend.  

There was much to be excited about in this performance as the Wildcats took two wins in the doubles matches and won all but one of the singles matches. 

In doubles, sophomore Trey Fourticq and freshman Tighe Brunetti swept their opponents, and junior captain Josh Robinson along with senior Justin Suarez took a 6-4 victory to gain the first team point of the day. 

There were strong performances all around in the singles matches, with one of the most impressive being from Robinson who was the number one for singles. 

Robinson won both sets with ease by scores of 6-2 and 6-1. 

Brunetti had another huge performance as well, taking 6-2 and 6-4 victories as the number two for singles. With these wins, Brunetti continued to prove why he has been one of best players on the court this year for Villanova. 

“He’s playing like a beast right now,” head coach Brad Adams said. “He doesn’t let anyone affect him. He has full control on the court.”

The Villanova victory was secured by Fourticq at the three spot when he won 6-1 and 6-3. The Wildcats also had some extra support last Friday as Junior Eitan Khromchenko returned from a year-long injury, winning 7-5 and 6-1 to gain a point for the team. 

“It was nice to get the win,” Adams said. “Rider is a really good team. Everybody was prepared because Rider is much improved.”

The men will take the court again on Feb. 24 against Coppin State.