The men's tennis team took on local rival Howard University on Sunday February 25 at the Montclair Country Club Indoor Tennis Bubble. The match was scheduled for the outdoor courts at the McDonough Arena Tennis Complex, but was moved to the indoor club in Dumfries, Va. due to rain at Georgetown. The final score of the match gave Georgetown a 6-1 advantage.

The match began with the doubles competition. At #3 doubles, the team of Ken Jordan (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) and Jay Brupbacher (So., Sparta, N.J./P. John XXII)

made quick work of their opponents, finishing off Khalid Salah-Eddine and Jamar Stephens 8-1. At #2 doubles, the Hoya tandem of Marc Lohser (So., Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) and Dennis Cravedi (Fr., Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep) found themselves facing an early two break deficit of 3-0. They played their way back, but eventually lost to a solid Howard team comprised of Bison Dwayne Pagon and Jamal Ahmed by a score of 9-7. The decisive match of the doubles competition was closely played from the outset as the Hoya tandem of Nick Sklavounos (Jr., Waterford, Conn./Waterford) and Mike Nelson (Fr., Trinidad & Tobago/Port-of-Spain) faced Cal Dudley and Jon Hall-Bryant. The match eventually went to Howard in an 8-6 tiebreak. This win gave Howard the highly coveted doubles point.

In singles competition, Cravedi started strongly, winning the first five games of his match and finished strongly, winning six of the last nine games to defeat Stephens 6-1,6-2 at #3 singles. Lohser hit strongly from the baseline and played a good match in beating Pagon 6-1,6-3 at #2 singles. Andre Benjamin (Jr., New York, N.Y./Fieldston) also had a solid day downing Hall-Bryant 6-4,6-1 at #4 singles. Sklavounos served and volleyed his way to a 7-6(4),6-1 win over Dudley in the #1 singles match. Nelson struggled at #5 singles against Salah-Eddine but recovered from a 3-6 first set loss to win the second set 6-3 and the final set in a tiebreaker 7-6(2). Jordan was on his game in his first set, downing Ahmed 6-1, but Ahmed played very solidly to get himself back in the match. However, Jordan withstood the charge and won the match with a 7-6 (8) third set. After losing the doubles point, the Hoyas swept the singles matches dropping only two sets.

Doubles

#1 - Dudley/Hall-Bryant(HU) d Sklavounos/Nelson 9-8(6)

#2 - Pagon/Ahmed(HU) d Lohser/Cravedi 9-7

#3 - Jordan/ Jay Brupbacher d Stephens/Salah-Eddine 8-1

Score after the doubles competition- GU-0, HU-1

Singles

#1 - Nick Sklavounos d Cal Dudley(HU) 7-6(4),6-1

#2 - Marc Lohser d Dwayne Pagon(HU) 6-1,6-3

#3 - Dennis Cravedi d Jamar Stephens 6-1,6-2

#4 - Andre Benjamin d Jon Hall-Bryant(HU) 6-4,6-1

#5 - Michael Nelson d Khalid Salah-Eddine(HU) 3-6,6-3,7-6(2)

#6 - Ken Jordan d Jamal Ahmed(HU) 6-1,6-7(3),7-6(8)

Score from the singles competition- GU-6, HU-0