This past weekend, Villanova women’s tennis (11-9, 1-3 Big East ) closed out its regular season with a 4-3 loss to Georgetown University (8-8, 4-2 Big East) on Saturday, and a sweep against Haverford College (8-7) on Sunday.
On Saturday, April 11, Villanova traveled to College Park, Maryland, to play Georgetown at the Smith Center.
The Wildcats claimed the doubles point. At No. 1, Emi Callahan and Maggie Gehrig took home a 6-2 win, followed by a 6-4 win at No. 3 from Miriam Gondorova and Olivia Corcoran. At No. 2, Lauren Monti and Jenna Stevens’ match went unfinished with a 6-6 split.
After a three-set battle in singles play, Corcoran earned a victory at No. 1, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Then, Gondorova picked up a point at No. 3 after coming back from a first-set loss: 0-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Georgetown took four out of the five remaining singles matches to edge out the Wildcats.
“It was a tough one against Georgetown,” head coach Steve Reiniger said. “It was a battle. It couldn’t have been a closer match.”
Then, on Sunday, April 12, the Wildcats hosted Haverford and swept the Fords, 7-0. The match also marked the team’s senior day celebration of its three members of the senior class.
“The highlight was Savie Seebald,” Reiniger said. “She hadn’t been in the lineup, so it was nice for her to end her career with a good win, and she played very well.”
At No. 1 doubles, Callahan and Gehrig earned a 6-1 win, and then Monti and Stevens at No. 2, and Freshman Riley Cicero and Senior Savie Seebald at No. 3 earned identical 6-1 wins.
Then, in singles play, Villanova maintained control, sweeping all six matches in straight sets.
Corcoran, in the top spot, set the tone with a 6-0 win after her opponent retired. At No. 2, Stevens won, 6-0, 6-0. Cicero, at No. 4, triumphed 6-3, 6-2. Alina Kornyevea secured the win with a 6-0, 6-1 score at No. 3. Seebald, at No. 5, and Callahan, at No. 6, added straight-set wins.
On Sunday, the team was missing a few key players because of the match the day before.
“And Emi Callahan made her singles debut,” Reiniger said. “We twisted her arm a little bit because we were banged up from the day before. Maggie didn’t play singles, neither did Lauren Monti or Miriam, so we were missing a lot. I almost forfeited No. 6 singles, but Emi took one for the team and won like 6-0. ”
All the seniors played on Sunday, in honor of Senior Day, and the team had a senior celebration following the match.
“All the seniors played in the match, and then when the match was finished, we went up to the O’Dea Room and celebrated the seniors,” Reiniger said. “The team made a nice video to play for the seniors. They got to frame jerseys, and we had food; it was a nice celebration, all the Senior parents were there too.”
With the regular season wrapped up after Sunday’s decision, Villanova heads to South Carolina for Big East Tournament play. It is the sixth seed in the tournament.
“On Wednesday, we travel to Cayce, South Carolina, for our conference tournament,” Reiniger said. “The seeds just came out, and we’re seeded six out of eleven. Last year, we were seeded fourth. We’ll play Providence in the first round, and if we win that, we’ll play St. John’s. I know our team will be ready. We played them in the regular season, and it was a pretty close match.”
On Thursday, April 16, Villanova plays Providence in Cayce, South Carolina, in the Big East tournament. First serve is set for 9 a.m.
Should Villanova win, it will advance to the quarterfinal round, facing the No. 3 seed St. John’s on Friday, April 17, at 1 p.m.
