Final Stats

BLACKSBURG, Va. â€"â€" The Navy men's tennis team advanced three singles players and one doubles team into the respective second rounds at the ITA Atlantic Region Championship that was held this weekend in Blacksburg, Va.

"It was a good experience for the guys," said Navy associate head coach John Moreland, who accompanied the team to the event. "It was nice to have one of our doubles teams and three of the four singles players advance to second round for the second time in three years."

Matthew Lee (Fr., San Diego, Calif.) reached the second round in both competitions. He first teamed with Thomas Pecor (Sr., Houston, Texas) for an 8-6 win over Villanova's tandem of Will Elmore and Luis Miranda in the doubles competition. The Navy duo would then drop an 8-5 decision to Addison Appleby and Lars DeBoer from William & Mary in the round of 32.

Lee continued his successful inaugural trip to the event by edging Villanova's Alistair Hurray, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, in the opening round of singles. His weekend came to an end in the round of 64 with a 6-0, 6-0 loss to No. 5 seed Jacob Dunbar from Richmond.

"Matt played well and gained valuable experience as a freshman," said Moreland. "Exposure to the quality of competition the best players our region has to offer is helpful as he continues to develop his game to the collegiate level."

Navy's second entered doubles team of Krishna Jana (Sr., Seabrook, Texas) and Andrey Majkic (Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.) very nearly pulled off an opening round upset as they lost in a tiebreaker (8-6) to No. 5 seed Mitch Harper and Freddy Mesmer from Virginia Tech.

"Our doubles teams ran into tough draws with each losing to teams that went on to reach the quarterfinals," said Moreland. "Both teams played well in their matches against those tough opponents."

Jana and Majkic would both record narrow victories in the opening round of singles matches. Jana defeated Alex Pinsonneault of George Mason, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, and Majkic tallied a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win over William & Mary's Michael Ruamthong. Jana fell, 6-2, 6-2, in the second round to Chase Burton of Liberty, while Virginia's J.C. Aragone, the event's No. 2 seed, posted a 6-1, 6-1 win over Majkic in the round of 64.

"Andrey showed his grit by bouncing back in singles after a very emotional loss in doubles where they had several match points and lost," said Moreland. "That resilience will pay off as the season progresses.

"Krishna played hard this weekend and ran into a very solid player from Liberty in his second round. He continues to improve each day and this weekend showed why he will be a very important part of the team this season."

Pecor lost his first round match in singles, a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Penn State's Zach Lieb, but posted a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over Villanova's Tyler Roth in the consolation draw.

"Thomas had a tough first round in singles," said Moreland, "but he came back and won a tough, hard-fought consolation match."

Navy's fall season will continue in a few weeks when the Mids both play host to the Navy Invitational and compete in the Dickie V Clay Court Classic the weekend of Nov. 4-6.

Doubles â€" Round of 64
(5 seed) Mitch Harper / Freddy Mesmer (Virginia Tech) def. Krishna Jana / Andrey Majkic (Navy), 8-7 (8-6)
Matthew Lee / Thomas Pecor (Navy) def. Will Elmore / Luis Miranda (Villanova), 8-6

Doubles â€" Round of 32
Addison Appleby / Lars DeBoer (William & Mary) def. Matthew Lee / Thomas Pecor (Navy), 8-5

Singles â€" Round of 128
Matthew Lee def. Alistair Hurray (Villanova), 6-4,5-7, 6-4
Zach Lieb (Penn State) def. Thomas Pecor, 6-3, 6-2
Krishna Jana def. Alexis Pinsonneault (George Mason), 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
Andrey Majkic def. Michael Ruamthong (William & Mary), 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)

Singles â€" Round of 64
(6 seed) Jacob Dunbar (Richmond) def. Matthew Lee, 6-0, 6-0
Chase Burton (Liberty) def. Krishna Jana, 6-2, 6-2
(2 seed) J.C. Aragone (Virginia) def. Andrey Majkic, 6-1, 6-1

Singles â€" Consolation Draw
Thomas Pecor def. Tyler Roth (Villanova), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4