Villanova played in its second invitational of the fall season this past weekend at the Navy Blue and Gold Invitational held in Annapolis, Maryland. Along with the Wildcats, Navy tennis hosted Georgetown, Lehigh, Towson, Seton Hall, George Washington, and Mount St. Mary’s.
Villanova lost several players to injury, including sophomore Jenna Stevens, who is out with a concussion, and sophomore Miriam Gondorova, who suffered a knee injury that limited her to doubles play only.
In Singles Flight “C” lone Freshman Olivia Corcoran stood out, besting George Washington 4-1, 2-4, Mount St.Mary’s 6-6, 1-1, and ultimately winning the division, defeating Navy 6-6, 3-4. The freshman from Cary, North Carolina showed off her skills this past weekend, as head coach Steve Reiniger is excited to see such a great start from the first year.
Also in Singles Flight “C”, Madeline Hills was defeated by Georgetown 4-4, 1-0.
In Singles Flight “A” junior Maggie Gehrig defeated George Washington 2-5, 4-4, but ultimately fell to Navy in the second round 6-6, 4-3.
In Singles Flight “B”, Lauren Monti fell to Navy 1-4, 4-2 in the round of 16.
Savarin Seebald fell to Seton Hall 4-3, 6-6 in “D” Flight Singles. Also in “D” Flight Singles, senior Valieriia Kornieva secured three wins, defeating Lehigh 4-5, 2-4, Georgetown 7-6, 6-3, and Navy 6-6, 7-3. She was ultimately defeated by Georgetown in the final round 7-2 (10), 6-6 (5).
Maggie Gerhrig and Savarin secured the “B” Flight Doubles division in two wins, defeating Georgetown 6-4 and Towson 6-2, demonstrating a lot of “aggressive play at the net” according to Reiniger, who was pleased with their victories.
Sophomore Madeline Hills and Senior Valieriia Kornieva also secured themselves a pair of wins in “B” Flight Doubles, emerging victorious against Lehigh (6-2) and Navy (6-3), but ultimately falling to Georgetown 6-4 in the division’s final match.
Emma Brogan and Olivia Corcoran teamed up in “C” Flight Doubles, earning themselves a win over Towson 7-6, but were defeated 3-6 by Navy.
All around, doubles play ended up being in the Wildcats’ favor this weekend, as the team was able to adjust well despite most players being used to singles play. Reiniger expressed great satisfaction when discussing the doubles matches.
“I was super pleased with the doubles, we played the way we’re supposed to play,” Reiniger said.
Villanova has also brought in graduate transfer Sophia Edwards, who formerly played at Boston College. After redshirting her final season in Chestnut Hill, Edwards competed for the first time in about a year at the Navy Blue and Gold Invitational.
Despite being defeated in “A” Flight Singles 2-6 (6), Reiniger is extremely excited to see Edwards back on the court.
“She played pretty well considering it was her first match in a bit,” Reiniger said..
Reiniger said the primary goal of the fall season is to improve in doubles play in preparation for the Wildcats’ spring season. So far, their doubles abilities are looking promising, which the team has proven based on the results of the match. The fall season will also serve as a good time to get to know and adjust to a new team, despite having only two new additions this year.
Villanova’s next match will be the Cissy Leary Invitational, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, on Oct. 4-6.
