Spiders Rally Past Georgetown in Home Thriller

Saturday, March 21

Richmond, Va.

10:30 a.m.

University of Richmond

Georgetown

03/21/2026 | Women's Tennis

Box Score Results (PDF)

RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond women's tennis team earned a 4-3 victory over Georgetown Saturday morning at the Westhampton Tennis Complex. With the win, the Spiders improve to 4-8 on the spring season while the Hoyas fall to 3-7 overall.

How It Happened
Georgetown opened the afternoon by claiming the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. Paige Gilbert and Ashley Kennedy defeated Sofia Barbulescu and Abby Lee 6-1 at the top spot before Ruhika Bhat and Julia Chu secured the point with a 6-2 decision over Lainey O'Neil and Lucy Webber on court two. The match on court three featuring Beatriz Guerra and Elizabeth Novak against Katie Garofolo-Ro and Emily Novikov went unfinished with Richmond leading 5-1.

Richmond responded in singles play with four victories across the lineup to secure the comeback win. Georgetown struck first as Emily Novikov defeated Sofia Barbulescu 6-2, 6-0 on court one to extend the Hoyas' lead to 2-0.

Abby Lee put the Spiders on the board with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Ashley Kennedy on court four to cut the deficit to 2-1. Lucy Webber followed with a three-set comeback, defeating Katie Garofolo-Ro 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 on court three to even the match at 2-2. Georgetown answered as Ruhika Bhat earned a 6-1, 7-5 win over Lainey O'Neil on court five to push the Hoyas back in front, 3-2.
Richmond closed the match with back-to-back three-set victories to clinch the win. Beatriz Guerra delivered a dominant performance on court six, defeating Paige Gilbert 6-0, 3-6, 6-0 to tie the match at 3-3. Elizabeth Novak secured the deciding point on court two, outlasting Julia Chu 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 to seal the 4-3 victory for the Spiders.

Tennis Match Results

Richmond 4, Georgetown 3

March 21, 2026 | Richmond, Va.
Westhampton Tennis Complex

Doubles competition
Gilbert/Kennedy (Georgetown) def. Barbulescu/Lee (Richmond) 6-1
Bhat/Chu (Georgetown) def. O'Neil/Webber (Richmond) 6-2
Guerra/Novak (Richmond) vs. Garofolo-Ro/Novikov (Georgetown) 5-1, unfinished

Singles competition
Emily Novikov (Georgetown) def. Sofia Barbulescu (Richmond) 6-2, 6-0
Elizabeth Novak (Richmond) def. Julia Chu (Georgetown) 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3
Lucy Webber (Richmond) def. Katie Garofolo-Ro (Georgetown) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
Abby Lee (Richmond) def. Ashley Kennedy (Georgetown) 6-3, 7-5
Ruhika Bhat (Georgetown) def. Lainey O'Neil (Richmond) 6-1, 7-5
Beatriz Guerra (Richmond) def. Paige Gilbert (Georgetown) 6-0, 3-6, 6-0

Match Notes

Richmond moves to 4-8 on the spring season.
Georgetown falls to 3-7 overall.
The Spiders earned singles victories from Elizabeth Novak, Lucy Webber, Abby Lee and Beatriz Guerra.
Three of Richmond's four singles wins came in three sets.
The doubles match on court three went unfinished at 5-1.
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,4,3,5,6,2).

Updated Spring Records
Singles
Sofia Barbulescu 4-8
Lara Bakhaya 1-2
Elizabeth Novak 3-9
Beatriz Guerra 3-9
Abby Lee 4-8
Lucy Webber 8-4
Lainey O'Neil 4-5

Doubles
Barbulescu/Bakhaya 0-3
Novak/O'Neil 1-3
Webber/Guerra 0-2
Barbulescu/Guerra 0-0
Lee/Webber 1-0
Barbulescu/Novak 0-1
Guerra/Lee 0-1
Lee/Barbulescu 2-3
O'Neil/Webber 3-2
O'Leary/Novak 0-2
Novak/Walsh 0-1

Up Next
Richmond opens Atlantic 10 Conference play on Friday, March 27, traveling across town to face VCU before returning home to host East Carolina on Saturday, March 28.