April 22, 2006

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy tennis team rallied in the doubles matches to gain a crucial team point, then won three of the first five singles matches to snap a five-match losing streak to Army, 4-3. The win moves Navy's overall record to 14-9 and 4-2 in Patriot League play. The victory also clinches Navy a spot in the Patriot League Tournament next weekend at either American or Army.

"It was just a great performance and a typical Army-Navy match," said Navy head coach John Officer. "This win will give us a lot of confidence heading into the league tournament and we have been looking forward to next weekend for quite some time. The crowd was great and there was a lot of emotion and our guys fed off of it."

Navy was forced to rally in doubles action, falling behind early in two of the three matches. Navy's pairing of Adrian Lai and Stanley Kahl dropped its match at No. 2, 8-2, but the Mids rallied with two key victories to gain the much-needed point.

At No. 3 doubles, the freshman team of Johnny Waters and Jason Hill rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win seven of the last nine games for an 8-5 victory. The grouping of Nate Nelms and Brandon Carter then clinched the point with a thrilling, 9-7 victory at No. 1 doubles. Leading 8-7, Carter and Nelms broke Army's serve giving Navy the lone point and a 1-0 team lead.

In singles action, Army tied the match at No. 2 singles with a 6-1, 6-4, victory, but Navy won the next two matches to come off the court for a 3-1 advantage. Kahl had a strong performance at No. 6, winning 6-3, 6-3, and Carter was victorious at No. 4 singles, 6-3, 7-5.

The Black Knights crawled to within 3-2 after a win at No. 1 singles, 7-6 (3), 6-0, but Navy closed out the match with a 6-1, 7-6 (3), triumph by Lai at No. 3 singles. Lai won the match with an emphatic overhead kill from midcourt in the tiebreaker, setting off a loud ovation from the Navy team.

"There were a lot of momentum shifts and the guys battled very hard. I am very proud of the team," said Officer. "Brandon Carter was our player of the day. He had only practiced on Thursday and Friday after an arm injury and really played well. To get a performance like that out of him is a very positive sign for us."

The Mids will now either head to Washington, D.C., or West Point, N.Y., next weekend. Army and American will play tomorrow afternoon, with the winner earning the right to host the postseason tournament. An Army win gives Navy the No. 3 seed and a first-round matchup with American. An American victory gives Navy the No. 2 seed and a contest against Army in the first round.

DOUBLES PLAY (Navy wins the doubles point):
1. Nelms / Carter (Navy) d. Houghton / Fisher, 9-7
2. Good / Kang (Army) d. Lai / Kahl, 8-2 3. Waters / Hill (Navy) d. Harris / Muhawi, 8-5

SINGLES PLAY (Navy won three matches to win, 4-3):
2. John Houghton (Army) d. Jason Hill, 6-1, 6-4
6. Stanley Kahl (Navy) d. Kevin Harris, 6-3, 6-3
4. Brandon Carter (Navy) d. Eddie Kang, 6-3, 7-5
1. Carl Fisher (Army) d. Nate Nelms, 7-6 (3), 6-0
3. Adrian Lai (Navy) d. Phil Muhawi, 6-1, 7-6 (3)
5. Michael Good (Army) d. Johnny Waters, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5

# GO NAVY #