Both the Villanova men and women’s tennis teams faced a challenging weekend, competing well, but ultimately dropping three matches. Both teams fell to Navy, and the men’s team also lost to Brigham Young University.
The women’s squad lost a very close match against Navy on Sunday morning, 4-3.
The Wildcats got off to a good start, with the first duo of sophomore Lauren Monti and graduate student Sophia Edwards winning, 7-5. Third doubles, sophomores Maddie Hills and Jenna Stevens, took down their opponents, 6-2, to increase the momentum.
Junior Maggie Gehrig secured an overtime win for the Wildcats, coming back to win, 6-3, as the No. 2.
“I thought Maggie was a huge bright spot for us,” women’s head coach Steve Reiniger said. “She returned the serve well and was our best match.”
Freshman Olivia Corcoran also won in overtime against Navy’s No. 3 singles player, 6-3. Reiniger praised Corcoran’s adaptability in the match after she was struggling with an illness last week.
“[Corcoran] is not a typical freshman,” Reiniger said. “Her teammates would agree, she has been a fast riser and a rock for us.”
The Wildcats will look to improve their doubles play in future matches. Reiniger emphasized the need to secure a lead before moving onto singles, which has been Villanova’s strong suit recently.
“We’re playing the right way,” Reiniger said. “Obviously we’d like to improve, but mainly we have to stay persistent in doubles.”
On the men’s side, Villanova faced similar struggles on Friday and Saturday, falling, 7-0, to BYU in the first-ever matchup between the programs.
Against BYU, the Wildcats were stifled in their doubles matches. Junior Cooper Gordon and sophomore Kush Anand fell, 6-3. Freshmen Quincy Jones and Jack Sherner also lost, 5-3, in an unfinished match to round out the doubles card.
In singles, the Wildcats had somewhat better luck, bringing BYU to some close third-set finishes, especially with sophomore Justin Frattarelli, who almost defeated BYU’s David Duong in an intense tiebreaker. However, Frattarelli ended up falling in the tiebreak, 10-7.
On Saturday, the Wildcats fell again, losing to Navy, 6-1.
Gordon and Anand handily won their match to start the doubles card, 6-1, but Navy was able to secure the following two matches, and the doubles point in turn.
In singles, the Wildcats dropped five straight matches. Freshman Quincy Jones was the lone singles player to win his match, 6-1, 6-4.
“All four of our freshmen have brought a lot of energy to the team, Villanova men’s tennis head coach Brad Adams said. “[Jones] showed that.”
Adams acknowledged that the team hasn’t gotten the results they want recently, having lost all four spring matches so far. Adams described his squad as persistent and on the right track, so long as they begin to make critical adjustments.
“We are struggling on deuce points, for sure,” Adams said. “That’s where we need to be more precise to get closer to winning.”
Looking ahead, Villanova men’s tennis will host Rider University this coming Saturday at 6:30 p.m, while the women’s next match will be against Drexel on Thursday, Feb. 13. This is the first match between Villanova and Drexel in three years after the match was canceled last season. It will serve as an important test against a regional rival.
