April 2, 2016 Final Stats
ANNAPOLIS, Md. â€"â€" The Navy men's tennis team posted a 6-1 win over Norfolk State Saturday afternoon at the Tose Family Tennis Center in Annapolis. The victory was the third in a row for the Mids and their eighth in the last nine matches.
Norfolk State's (5-13) roster includes only five players, so Navy (14-7) needed to win only one of the two doubles matches contested between the teams to earn doubles point. The Mids did just that when Krishna Jana (Jr., Seabrook, Texas) and Walker Sims (So., Memphis, Tenn.) combined to defeat Antonio Pejic and Fatehdeep Singh by the score of 6-2 at the No. 2 flight.
"Krishna and Walker played well to secure the doubles point for us," said Navy head coach Chris Garner. "They both served a high percentage of first serves, had good volleys and executed well."
The Mids held a 2-0 lead entering doubles play due to the Spartans having to default the No. 6 singles match. Navy's lead became 3-0 thanks to Sims defeating Singh by the score of 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 singles. A 6-4, 6-0 win recorded by Aries Wong (So., Bethesda, Md.) over Pejic at No. 3 singles secured the match-clinching fourth point for Navy.
"Walker played a really good singles match," said Garner. "He was steady in defeating his opponent. Likewise for Aries. He and his opponent both played a great first set. Aries became a lot more aggressive in the second set and was able to overpower his opponent."
Also earning singles victories on the day for Navy were Austin Jones (Sr., Dallas, Texas) and Jana and the Nos. 1 and 2 flights, respectively. Both Mids won in straight sets, though Jana's two sets were each extended into tiebreakers.
"Austin was down in the first set," said Garner, "but found his groove and was able to put a lot of pressure on his opponent over the remainder of the match. Krishna was in a back-and-forth match the whole time. He was able to get just enough of a lead to close it out."
Navy will play host to Lafayette Sunday at 2 p.m. That match is currently scheduled to be played outdoors on the USNA Tennis Courts, but with high winds expected in Annapolis tomorrow there is a strong chance that the match will return indoors to the Tose Family Tennis Center.
Navy (14-7) def. Norfolk State (5-13), 6-1
Doubles -- Navy wins the doubles point (2-1)
1. Fernandez, Flavian /Henning, Benedikt (NSUM) def. Majkic, Andrey / Wong, Aries, 6-4
2. Jana, Krishna / Sims, Walker (NAVY) def. Pejic, Antonio / Singh, Fatehdeep, 6-2
3. Navy wins by default
Singles (4-3-5-1-2)
1. Jones, Austin (NAVY) def. Henning, Benedikt, 6-4, 6-4
2. Jana, Krishna (NAVY) def. Dumitrascu, Dan, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4)
3. Wong, Aries (NAVY) def. Pejic, Antonio, 6-4, 6-0
4. Sims, Walker (NAVY) def. Singh, Fatehdeep, 6-1, 6-1
5. Fernandez, Flavian (NSUM) def. Hayslett, Parker, 7-5, 6-2
6. Navy wins by default