The Georgetown University men's tennis team fell to host Rutgers in an extremely intense match by a score of 4-3 this past Sunday. As has been the case in all three of the Hoyas' BIG EAST contests this year (all three ended in 4-3 outcomes) the match came down to one singles match left on the court to decide the final outcome.
The doubles competition treated the Hoyas unkindly as the team lost all three matches to give Rutgers the sweep and the all-important first point of the match. At #1 doubles, sophomore Marc Lohser (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) and freshman Dennis Cravedi (Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep) opened the match with a break of serve but then suffered an 8-2 loss to RU's Akshay Jagdale and Greg Schweitzer. The #2 doubles tandem of Nick Sklavounos (Jr., Waterford, Conn./Waterford) and Michael Nelson (Fr., Trinidad & Tobago/Port-of-Spain) suffered a similar fate as they dropped their match 8-3 to Rutgers' Chris Kunsher and Joey Muscatiello. Georgetown's #3 doubles team of junior Andre Benjamin (New York, N.Y./Fieldston) and sophomore Troy Crichlow ( Milton, Mass./Milton) held serve during the initial six games of the match but then were broken and lost by an 8-4 score to the Knight's Brook Deming and Takashi Zetsu.
As has been characteristic of the 2001 Hoyas they responded to the 1-0 deficit by winning early in the singles competition. Crichlow didn't allow his opponent any breathing room at #3 singles as he won in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. Lohser opened up the first set at #2 with a 6-2 victory and then held on in the second and won it 6-4 over RU's Schweitzer. The final match to come off of the initial three was GU's Sklavounos at #1. He lost by a count of 6-2, 6-4 to Jagdale. Heading into the final three singles matches the Hoyas and the Scarlet Knights were tied at 2-2. In the #4 spot the Hoyas' Cravedi notched an impressive 7-5, 6-3 win over Kevin Bielen. Thus, The Hoyas were up 3-2 with #5 and #6 singles on the court. Georgetown's Benjamin played valiantly but was edged out by a score of 6-3, 6-1 at #5 against Zetsu. The stage was set for the decisive #6 match. Freshman Nelson played a spirited match and was supported by his fellow Hoya teammates. Nelson won the first set 6-4 by hitting outstanding volleys, but he lost the second 1-6 and with a 2-1 lead in the third he was unable to convert some game points and lost 3-6 to RU's Muscatiello.
The team's overall record fell to 7-11 while its BIG EAST record fell to 1-2. The team will be in action next against BIG EAST rival Connecticut in Storrs, Conn. on Saturday, April 7.
Georgetown vs Rutgers
Sunday April 1, 2001
Doubles
1. A. Jagdale/G. Schweitzer (RU) d. D. Cravedi/M. Lohser (GU) 8-2
2. Chris Kunsher/J. Muscatiello (RU) d. N. Sklavounos/M. Nelson (GU) 8-3
3. B. Deming/T. Zetsu(RU) d. A. Benjamin/T. Crichlow (GU) 8-4
Team Score after doubles - Rutgers-1, Georgetown-0
Singles
1. Akshay Jagdale (RU) d. Nick Sklavounos (GU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Marc Lohser (GU) d. Greg Schweitzer (RU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Troy Crichlow (GU) d. Brook Deming (RU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Dennis Cravedi (GU) d. Kevin Bielen (RU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Takashi Zetsu (RU) d. Andre Benjamin (GU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Joey Muscatiello (RU) d. Michael Nelson (GU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
Team Score from the singles competition - Rutgers-3, Georgetown-3
Final Score - Rutgers-4, Georgetown-3
