The men's tennis team traveled to South Florida to take on NCAA Division II powerhouse Lynn University and NCAA Division I's Hampton University. The Hoyas were 0-2 in those matches but the results showed a strong improvement in comparison to match results against the same teams last year. GU fell to Lynn, 6-3 and to Hampton 5-1.
On Tuesday March 6, Georgetown faced Lynn on the Lynn University campus in Boca Raton, Fla. The Lynn team is ranked #15 in the nation in NCAA Division II and features Martin Cerenko, the #47 ranked player in the country. The conditions as the match began were quite challenging, as temperatures were in the 60's, prevailing winds averaged 20 miles per hour, and gusts exceeded 35 miles per hour. The match began with the doubles competition and under Division II rules each match was worth one team point. At #3 doubles Andre Benjamin (Jr., New York, N.Y./Fieldston) and Troy Crichlow (Wilton, Mass./Milton) posted an early break of serve and had several opportunities to add to the 4-1 lead. Lynn's tandem of Carenko and Croke fought back to forge a 7-5 lead, ultimately taking the match 8-6. At #2 doubles Marc Lohser (So., Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) and Dennis Cravedi (Fr., Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep) held the reins of their match until late in the pro-set when they were broken by Mujica and Almeida who won the match 8-6. At #1 doubles, the Hoya team of Nick Sklavounos (Jr., Waterford, Conn./Waterford) and Mike Nelson (Fr., Trinidad & Tobago/Port-of-Spain) fell behind 6-2 but swept the next six games to capture the match 8-6. The team score after the doubles competition was Georgetown-1, Lynn-2.
In the singles competition, Lynn gained the early edge with two victories. At #3 singles Raphael Almeida defeated Crichlow 6-2,6-3. At #6 singles Sergio Sancho defeated Jay Brupbacher (So., Sparta, N.J./P. John XXII) 6-3,6-2. With the team score standing at 4-1 in favor of Lynn, and Lynn needing only one more match victory to clinch the Hoyas crept back into contention. Sklavounos won his match at #1 singles 6-4,6-2 over Ibrahim Boaakdali while Benjamin at #5 singles turned around a difficult 6-0 first set loss to win his second set 6-2. Benjamin went on to dismiss David Planting 0-6,6-2,6-2 to give the Hoyas the second singles point and close the Lynn lead to 4-3. Two matches were left on the courts that would determine the team winner. Lohser kept Hoya hopes alive by winning his second set 7-6 after having lost the first set against Lynn's Carenko in the #2 singles match. On the adjoining court, Cravedi battled Pedro Mujica in the #4 singles match, but lost the first set 6-4. Cravedi battled valiantly but Mujica closed out the match and the Lynn victory 6-4,6-4. Lohser continued his fight but fell short 6-3,6-7(5),6-4. The final score in the singles competition was Lynn-4, Georgetown-2.
On Thursday the men's team faced Hampton University on the campus of Palm Beach Community College in Boca Raton, Fla. Hampton held a NCAA Division I ranking of #13 in Region 2. The Hoyas fell 6-1 as the tough Hampton Bison prevailed winning the doubles competition and five of six singles matches. The doubles competition which opened the match featured Hoya Crichlow facing his brother Shaun in the #3 doubles match. A heated battle ensued with Hampton's Crichlow and partner Alfred Mwamba taking the match 9-7 over GU's Crichlow and Benjamin. Hampton lost a total of eight games combined in the #1 and #2 doubles matches as GU's Sklavounos and Nelson lost at #1, 8-3 and Lohser and Cravedi fell at #2, 8-5. Leading 1-0 after the doubles competition, Hampton kept the momentum rolling with straight set singles wins at the #6, #5, #3 and #2 positions. Cravedi was the only Hoya to win a match on the day. He displayed a solid effort at #4 singles against Albert Richards winning 7-6, 6-3. Sklavounos split sets with Pyung Koo Lee in the #1 singles match, but Lee, the #16 ranked player in Region 2, fought hard to earn a 6-2,4-6,7-5 victory. At #2 Lohser fell 6-4, 6-4, #3 saw Crichlow lose 6-2, 6-2, #5 had Benjamin falling 6-3, 6-4 and at #6 Brupbacher lost 6-1, 6-4.
Men's Tennis vs Lynn University
Doubles
#1 - Sklavounos/Nelson d Planting/Justin O'Bront(Lynn) 8-6
#2 - Mujica/Almeida(Lynn) d Lohser/Cravedi 8-6
#3 - Carenko/Toby Croke(Lynn) d Benjamin/Crichlow 8-6
Score after the doubles competition- GU-1, Lynn-2
Singles
#1 - Nick Sklavounos d Ibrahim Boaakdali(Lynn) 6-4,6-2
#2 - Martin Carenko(Lynn) d Marc Lohser 6-3,6-7(5),6-4
#3 - Raphael Almeida(Lynn) d Troy Crichlow 6-2,6-3
#4 - Pedro Mujica(Lynn) d Dennis Cravedi 6-4,6-4
#5 - Andre Benjamin d David Planting (Lynn) 0-6,6-2,6-2
#6 - Sergio Sancho(Lynn) d Jay Brupbacher 6-3,6-2
Score from the singles competition- GU-2, Lynn-4
Men's Tennis vs Hampton University
Doubles
#1 - Barros/Nasicmento(Hampton d Sklavounos/Nelson 8-3
#2 - Lee/Radislaw Rezac(Hampton) d Lohser/Cravedi 8-5
#3 - Mwamba/Shaun Crichlow (Hampton) d Benjamin/Crichlow 9-7
Score after the doubles competition- GU-0, Hampton-1
Singles
#1 - Pyung Koo Lee(Hampton) d Nick Sklavounos 6-2,4-6,7-5
#2 - Pablo Barros(Hampton) d Marc Lohser 6-4,6-4
#3 - Claco Nascimento(Hampton) d Troy Crichlow 6-2,6-2
#4 - Dennis Cravedi d Albert Richards(Hampton) 7-6,6-3
#5 - Amine Elouzzani(Hampton) d Andre Benjamin 6-3,6-4
#6 - Alfred Mwamba(Hampton) d Jay Brupbacher 6-1,6-4
Score from the singles competition- GU-1, Hampton-5
