ORLANDO, Fla. – The Navy women's tennis team (14-6) started out its Spring Break trip in Florida with two wins on Monday afternoon. The Midshipmen first defeated Saint Leo (7-2) – who is ranked third in the nation in NCAA Division II – 6-1 and Navy also swept Lees-McRae (5-5), 7-0.
 
Navy 6, Saint Leo 1
 
To start its trip in central Florida, the Midshipmen handed the Lions just its second loss of the season. In doubles, Saint Leo got the first win of the day at No. 1 doubles after Kristyna Jurkova and Andrea Ivanovic edged Amanda Cyr (So., Cary, N.C.) and Catalina Rico (Sr., San Jose, Calif.), 6-4.
 
Navy grabbed the momentum in the final two doubles matches with a pair of 7-5 victories to win the doubles point. Aimee Dervishian (Jr., Milton, Ga.) and Annalise Klopfer (Fr., Palm Harbor, Fla.) evened the race for the doubles point with a 7-5 win over Nina Furmaniak and Madeleine Gauthier. The Midshipmen's pair of Miranda Deng (So., North Potomac, Md.) and Kaylah Hodge (Jr., Upper Marlboro, Md.) won the doubles point for Navy after a 7-5 win at No. 3 doubles against Marta Vicens Miquel and Georgia Dobell.
 
In singles competition, Klopfer rolled to a straight-set win at No. 3 singles against Furmaniak after dropping just one game en route to a 6-1, 6-0 victory. The Midshipmen went ahead 3-0 in the match with Kacey Moore's (Fr., Wellington, Fla.) 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles against Ivanovic.
 
The Lions got on the board at No. 2 singles in a three-set match where Jurkova (ranked No. 40 in NCAA Division II) rallied from a set down to beat Hodge, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Ansofi Wreder (Jr., Miami, Fla.) clinched the match for the Midshipmen following a 7-5, 2-6, 6-0 win against Miquel at the top-seeded singles match.
 
With the 4-1 lead and the match secured, Navy grabbed a pair of straight-set victories at No. 5 and No. 6 singles to round out the dual. Dervishian won 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5 over Gauthier and Rico earned a 7-5, 6-4 decision against Nastasia Jedrychowsk at No. 6 singles to seal the 6-1 win over Saint Leo.
 
"It was a good start to the trip," head coach Keith Puryear said following the first match on Monday. "In the first match, we knew Saint Leo was going to be a good team and should not be taken lightly. They are third in the country for a reason. They were well coached and every match was competitive. I thought we did a good job managing the hot and sometimes breezy conditions in our first outdoor match.
 
"Kaylah and Miranda dug out of a 3-0 hole to help us get the doubles point after Aimee and Annalise had played a solid match at No. 2 doubles. We then got the first set in each of the first four singles matches that went out, which helped to keep the momentum going our way. Overall, I liked our resilience in most of the singles matches. We must now prepare for a very good Embry-Riddle team tomorrow."
 
Navy 7, Lees-McRae 0
 
In the second match of the day for the Mids, they took the momentum from the first match and did not drop a set in their 7-0 win against Lees-McRae. Navy won all three doubles matches to start the dual and take the 1-0 lead.
 
Deng partnered with Meghana Komarraju (Fr., Vienna, Va.) at No. 3 doubles to sweep Jaden Acklin and Rebecca Pierce, 6-0. Cyr and Brooke Bogdanovich (So., Suwanee, Ga.) teamed up at No. 2 doubles and secured the doubles point following their 6-3 win against Zeynep Cakirer and Mackenzie Langmade. Danika Kahatapitiya (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) and Tina Li (So., Wexford, Pa.) capped off doubles competition with a 6-3 victory at No. 1 doubles over Sandy Allen and Nursharneem Shamsuddin.
 
The Midshipmen did not drop a set in the six singles matches to complete their sweep. Cyr did not lose a game at No. 3 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 win against Cakirer. At No. 5 singles, Bogdanovich won, 6-1, 6-1 against Pierce and then Li sealed the victory for Navy at No. 6 singles in her 6-1, 6-0 contest against Acklin.
 
Navy continued its strong play in singles with a second-straight 6-1, 6-0 victory coming at No. 1 singles after Deng beat Allen to extend Navy's lead to 5-0. Kahatapitiya won a 6-2, 6-0 match over Langmade at fourth-seeded singles and Komarraju rounded the Midshipmen's sweep at No. 2 singles with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) win over Shamsuddin.
 
"I thought our ladies did a good job of coming out quickly and executing their game plans," assistant coach Alessandra Pedergnana said after Navy's second match of the day. "This was our first match outdoors since October and the ladies made the necessary adjustments. Credit to Meghana – who was not feeling 100 percent – for battling back from a 5-2 deficit to come back and win 7-6 in the second set. Overall, it was a good first day, but we have another match tomorrow and we can still improve."
 
Navy continues its trip in Florida on Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. against Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach, Fla.