April 17, 2016 Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
ANNAPOLIS, Md. â€"â€" The momentum of winning the doubles point carried over into singles and sparked the Navy men's tennis team to a 7-0 victory over Bucknell Sunday at the USNA Tennis Courts in Annapolis.
Navy (18-8, 3-0) won the first doubles match to be completed as Andrey Majkic (So., Jacksonville, Fla.) and Aries Wong (So., Bethesda, Md.) did not drop a game in winning their match at the No. 3 flight over Ben Gerber and Andrei Vitiuc. Bucknell (13-12, 3-2) claimed the next match to finish, a 6-4 win at the No. 1 flight by the team of Nick Bybel and Daniel Wright over Austin Jones (Sr., Dallas, Texas) and Tucker Massie (So., Bloomfield Hills, Mich.). The Mids would earn the doubles point when their No. 2 team of Krishna Jana (Jr., Seabrook, Texas) and Walker Sims (So., Memphis, Tenn.) defeated Timber Erskine and Max Kane by the score of 7-5.
"That was a very good win," said Navy head coach Chris Garner. "It was a very exciting doubles point. It came down to Krishna and Walker. Both teams hit some great shots at the end. We were very fortunate to get the win to put us up, 1-0."
Navy would go on to win the first set in five singles matches and record three straight-set victories to tally the overall victory.
Sims gave the Mids a 2-0 lead when he defeated Gerber, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 5 singles, then Wong defeated Kane, 6-0, 6-2, at the No. 3 flight to build a 3-0 advantage. Thomas Pecor (Jr., Houston, Texas) secured the overall win for Navy with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Wright at No. 2 singles.
"Walker, Aries and Thomas," said Garner of the singles matches played by the trio, "from the first point to the last point their level was very high. That's what secured the four points.
"It puts a lot of pressure on any team when someone comes out and is really strong at the beginning. You can feel that as the match goes on, and it becomes taxing."
Both Jana at No. 4 singles and Majkic at No. 6 singles won the first set of their respective matches by the score of 6-3, but then each lost the second by the score of 7-5. Each played a 10-point tiebreaker instead of a complete third set, with both Mids emerging victories. Jana posted an 11-9 win over Vitiuc and Majkic defeated Max McDonald by the score of 10-3.
The final match on the courts was the No. 1 contest between Jones and Bybel. Bybel, who is ranked 18th in the ITA's Atlantic Region, won the first set by the score of 6-1, but Jones took the second set by the count of 6-4. Because the players completed the second set before Navy had secured the overall victory, the duo had to play a full third set instead of a 10-point tiebreaker as occurred at Nos. 4 and 6 singles.
The players were on serve in the third set with Jones leading 4-3 and Bybel serving. Very early in Bybel's service game, he rolled his right ankle and was hobbled for the remainder of the game, which Jones won to take a 5-3 lead. At that point Bybel retired because of his injury to bring the match and play on the day to a conclusion.
"Austin had a great win to come back against one of the best players to play in the league," said Garner. "It was a really good day for him and it was a good finish to the weekend.
"We could definitely be seeing Bucknell again in a couple of weeks (during the Patriot League Tournament). They are a very strong team. We just need to keep moving forward."
Navy will close its regular season with a pair of home matches this week. The Mids will play host to Loyola Wednesday and to Army West Point on Saturday.
Navy (18-8, 3-0) def. Bucknell (13-12, 3-2), 7-0
Doubles - Navy wins the doubles point (3-1-2)
1. Bybel, Nick / Wright, Daniel (BUCKNELL) def. Jones, Austin / Massie, Tucker, 6-4
2. Jana, Krishna / Sims, Walker (NAVY) def. Erskine, Timber / Kane, Max, 7-5
3. Majkic, Andrey / Wong, Aries (NAVY) def. Gerber, Ben / Vitiuc, Andrei, 6-0
Singles (5-3-2-4-6-1)
1. Jones, Austin (NAVY) def. Bybel, Nick, 1-6, 6-4, 5-3, retired
2. Pecor, Thomas (NAVY) def. Wright, Daniel, 6-2, 6-2
3. Wong, Aries (NAVY) def. Kane, Max, 6-0, 6-2
4. Jana, Krishna (NAVY) def. Vitiuc, Andrei, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (11-9)
5. Sims, Walker (NAVY) def. Gerber, Ben, 6-1, 6-1
6. Majkic, Andrey (NAVY) def. McDonald, Max, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3)