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Both the men's and women's tennis teams were excited to play the No. 14 team in the nation. Only one of them was excited coming back.

Coming back from a trip to Carnegie Mellon, the fifth-ranked team in the region, the men's team returned victors. They defeated the Tartans 4-3, boosting their season resume with such a crucial victory. Unfortunately, the women could not return with the same success. The fourth-ranked Tartan women defeated the Jays 8-1.

The men picked up a key early point against the Tartans, winning two out of three doubles matches. Leading the charge were the first and second doubles teams, both of whom won their matches. Sophomore Joe Vasoontara and junior Hillen Smith won at first doubles 8-3. At second doubles, junior Nick Kennedy and sophomore Raffi Roberti matched the success, winning 8-5.

In singles, the Blue Jays picked up their most important victory at six, where freshman Larry Wei came back from being down one set to win his match, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Vasoontara won at first singles, defeating the 16th-ranked player in the region in straight sets. Smith also won his match at second singles.

For the Jays, the victory meant more than just one win.

"First off, we needed to get back into the hunt for the NCAA Tournament," Roberti said. "And secondly, we were playing one of the two teams that took our spot in the tournament last year, so we had some fight in us to get them back for that."

The Blue Jays preceded their effort in Pittsburgh with a convincing 6-1 win over the Green Terror last Thursday at McDaniel. The Terror provided the Jays little resistance, as Hopkins won two of three doubles matches in convincing fashion, including an 8-0 win by Kennedy and Roberti that Kennedy called, "the quickest match I've ever played." This win, combined with a doubles win at number two by senior Michael Kelly-Sell and sophomore Matt Naftilian, gave the Blue Jays the double point.

Roberti played his first match at number one singles and proved himself perfectly suited for the role. Roberti won easily, 6-0, 6-0. Naftilian and Kennedy both played out of position at second and third singles, respectively, and both won their matches, 6-2, 6-2. Kelly-Sell and sophomore Howie Que also picked up singles victories for the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays look to the next week as a benchmark for the season.

"We've been playing well recently, mainly by being better prepared mentally," Roberti said. "However, our turnaround will be completed if we can get through this week, when we have four matches in four days, including a huge match at Washington College on Thursday."

The Lady Jays, however, were only able to pick up one point against Carnegie Mellon, who in addition to being ranked fourth in the region are No. 14 in the nation. The lone victory came courtesy of a 6-1, 6-4 victory at fourth singles by sophomore Mary Gorski.

Sophomore Tanya Gulink suffered her first loss of the season at second singles, falling to the No. 17 player in the region. But the Jays still greeted the loss with optimism.

"Playing against this team will help us," junior Becky Busch said. "We have tough conference matches next week and the conference tournament coming up in a few weeks, so this will be good for that."

The women also picked up their fifth shutout of the season last Saturday, defeating Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania 9-0. The win was Hopkins' sixth in a row before dropping the Carnegie Mellon match. The Blue Jays, ranked No. 9 in the region, began the match hot, winning all three doubles matches. Freshman Brittany Matava and Gulnik led the way for Hopkins, winning their match, 8-1.

In singles, Matava and Gulnik are also ranked regionally. Matava, ranked No. 10, won her singles match 6-1, 6-2. Gulnik, ranked No. 25, stayed undefeated on the season and won her match 6-1, 6-0. The rest of the Blue Jays picked up victories against an overmatched Owls team.

The Blue Jays look ahead to this week's important upcoming matches, and not on the tough loss to Carnegie Mellon.

"Overall, the loss to Carnegie Mellon was not detrimental," Busch said. "They are ranked 14th in the country, so we had nothing to lose going in. We have a big conference match against Franklin & Marshall this week, which we need to win to get into the conference tournament. Right now, that is our goal."

Currently standing at 11-3, the Blue Jays play next on Friday at home against Franklin and Marshall before hosting Swarthmore on Sunday. The 6-5 men play at Dickinson on Saturday and at home against Muhlenberg on Sunday.

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