ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's tennis team (12-6) hits the road this week for its Spring Break trip down in Florida, where the Midshipmen are currently scheduled to play five matches throughout Central Florida.
Navy first faces Saint Leo on Monday morning at 11 a.m. in Saint Leo, Fla., and the Mids then take on Lees-McRae at 2:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon in Orlando, Fla. Navy's lone match on Tuesday comes on the road in Daytona Beach, Fla., against Embry-Riddle at 1 p.m. On Wednesday, the Midshipmen compete in Lakeland, Fla., against Texas at Tyler at noon and then Austin College at 12:30 p.m.
Heading into the week, Navy is 12-6 overall and went 1-2 during its first weekend in March to finish out a 12-match homestand. The Midshipmen have been away from competition for the past week as they defeated Johns Hopkins, 5-2, in their last match on March 2.
Navy has seven individuals with at least 10 singles victories this season with
Kacey Moore guiding the team with a 17-2 mark during her first collegiate season. The Midshipmen have a trio of freshmen with just one loss in the spring as Moore,
Katreina Corpuz, and
Meghana Komarraju have compiled a 21-3 record. Overall, Navy has gone 132-85 in singles matches this season and 64-44 in singles in dual matches.
In doubles action, another Navy freshman has paced the team with a record of 17-3 overall.
Annalise Klopfer's 17 victories are the most on the team and she has gone 7-2 in the spring while teaming up with
Aimee Dervishian to go 6-1 in duals.
Miranda Deng is just behind Klopfer with a record of 15-6. In the spring, the Midshipmen have gone 35-19 in doubles matches to help them record a 64-37 mark overall this season.
Saint Leo sits at 7-1 this year and comes into the week on a four-match winning streak. The Lions are currently ranked third overall in NCAA Division II. In going 19-7 last year, Saint Leo suffered three losses to No. 1-ranked Barry -- who ended up winning the 2018 national title. The Lions have the 40th-ranked singles player in Division II in Kristyna Jurkova, while Jurkova has partnered with Nina Furmaniak to rank ninth in the nation in doubles.
Lees-McRae has posted a 4-4 record to start the season and have alternated losses and wins throughout the first eight matches of the year. Last time out, the Bobcats won a 6-0 contest on the road against Averett. Jaden Acklin has gone 4-4 to start the season and she is the lone singles player with a record of at least .500. The Bobcats have had strong doubles play with a 14-9 record in doubles competition this season.
Embry-Riddle is 3-3 on the year and dropped its first two conference matches of the spring to No. 7 Nova Southeastern and No. 1 Barry. Coming into the week, the Eagles grabbed wins over North Carolina Wesleyan, 7-0, and Davis & Elkins, 7-0. Georgina Wood and Itxaso Blanco have eight singles wins apiece for Embry-Riddle to lead the way, while Roberta Krvajica has gone 9-5 in doubles this season to pace the Eagles.
Texas at Tyler has gone 1-4 to start the season but qualified for the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis National Championship. The Patriots have dropped their last three matches coming into their trip to Florida. The lone victory on the season for Texas at Tyler was against Texas-Permian Basin in a tight 4-2 contest. Last time out, the Patriots dropped a 4-2 decision to Dallas Baptist at home.
Austin College has gone 2-1 on the young season with back-to-back wins against LeTourneau, 7-2, and Centenary, 9-0. However, the 'Roos lost to Millsaps, 6-3, during their last match in late February. In 2018, Austin College went 13-8 overall and finished third at the SCAC Women's Tennis Championship. Melody Duong is currently the 49th ranked singles player in all of NCAA Division III.
Navy begins the week on Monday morning at 11 a.m. against Saint Leo, followed by a 2:30 p.m. contest versus Lees-McRae. The Midshipmen will have five matches over a three-day span in Central Florida.
