February 20, 2002

The Hoyas renewed their annual rivalry with the University of Maryland on Saturday February 16 and came away with a disappointing 5-2 loss to the Terps.

The match began with three closely contested doubles matches. All three Hoya tandems had service breaks in hand in the middle and late stages on each court, but only one Hoya team prevailed, giving Maryland the team doubles point and the early 1-0 lead. At #1 doubles Marc Lohser (Woodbury, N.Y./Syosset) and Erik Bildman (Brookline, Mass./Roxbury Latin School) fell 8-6 to Haris Causevic and Jon Murchison. At #3 doubles Hoyas Andre Benjamin (New York, N.Y./Fieldston) and Dennis Cravedi (Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Prep) came through and held on for a narrow 9-7 victory over Chris Chiu and Greg Chambers. Senior co-captains Ken Jordan (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) and Nick Sklavounos (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) served twice with a break of serve lead in their match at 6-5 and 7-6 but could not put away the freshmen Terp tandem of Troy Demers and Mark Reichsfeld, who rebounded for a 9-8(6) victory.

The doubles point and the ensuing momentum would make the difference on the day for the Terrapins. In the singles competition, Hoya upperclassmen No. 1 Lohser, No. 3 Benjamin and No. 4 Troy Crichlow (Milton, Mass./Milton) fell to Maryland freshmen Causevic, Demers and Reichsfeld and Maryland had the four points they needed for the team victory. Benjamin and Crichlow lost first set tiebreakers. Sklavounos aided the Hoya cause with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at #6 singles against Jeff Fink. Bildman fell in a tense three set match to Murchison at #5 singles 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. Cravedi claimed the Hoyas second point of the day with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 win over Chiu.

The Hoyas continue their series of matches against local rivals when they take on the Howard Bison on Sunday morning February 24 at 9 a.m. at the Montclair Tennis Club in Dumfries, Va.

Doubles#1 Marc Lohser/Erik Bildman l. Haris Causevic/Jon Murchison(UMd) 8-6#2 Nick Sklavounos/Ken Jordan l. Troy Demers/David Reichsfeld(UMd) 9-8(6)#3 Andre Benjamin/Dennis Cravedi d. Chris Chiu/Greg Chambers(UMd) 9-7Score after the doubles competition- Georgetown-0, Maryland-1Singles#1 Marc Lohser l. Haris Causevic(UMd) 6-3,6-3#2 Dennis Cravedi d. Chris Chiu(UMd) 4-6,7-6,6-2#3 Andre Benjamin l. Troy Demers(UMd) 7-6,6-2#4 Troy Crichlow l. David Reichsfeld(UMd) 7-6,6-2#5 Erik Bildman l. Jon Murchison(UMd) 6-4,4-6,7-6#6 Nick Sklavounos d. Jeff Fink(UMd) 6-4,6-3Score from the doubles competition- Georgetown-2, Maryland-4Final Score- Georgetown-2, Maryland-5