MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Navy women's tennis pair of
Kaylah Hodge (Sr., Upper Marlboro, Md.) and
Annalise Klopfer (So., Palm Harbor, Fla.) had a near upset of the fourth-seeded doubles pair from LSU, but the Midshipmen fell just short. The duo of Hodge and Klopfer competed in one doubles match and combined for four singles matches at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic this weekend.
"We would like to thank Mr. Chaz Mulcahy for his generous support of Navy Tennis, the tournament staff and the City of Milwaukee," head coach
Keith Puryear said. "The city opens its arm to this event every year to make it a very special and unique experience for each player participating. Lastly, we would like to thank our host family Bill and Betsie Berrien. They both took time out of their lives to share some very special moments with Kaylah, Annalise and myself."
Puryear concluded, "From a competitive standpoint, this tournament is a no brainer. Having a chance to compete against LSU, Michigan State, Memphis and Miami (Ohio) – who won their conference last year – gave us invaluable experience. The margins were slim and we gave ourselves some opportunities in all of our matches but we did not capitalize consistently, which was the difference this weekend."
Hodge and Klopfer started the weekend in the doubles championship draw against LSU's Safiya Carrington and Eden Richardson. The Tiger pair was seeded fourth in the 32-team draw and they are ranked 39th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings. The Midshipmen jumped ahead early and took a 4-1 lead in the match looking to upset the LSU pair. However, Carrington and Richardson battled back to win the pro set 8-5 and thwart Navy's upset bid.
Shifting into singles competition, Hodge faced Tia Mukherjee of Michigan State in the Round of 64. Hodge took the early lead with a 6-4 victory in the first set, but she was unable to hang on to the momentum and dropped the next two sets by the same scoreline. Klopfer's first singles match came against Brindtha Ramasamy from Miami (Ohio). Klopfer lost in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.
In the consolation draw, Hodge and Klopfer both lost in the round of 32 to finish their tournament runs. Following a three-set loss on Friday, Hodge lost in two sets to Rachel Papavasilopoilos of Eastern Illinois, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3. Klopfer won her first set in the consolation draw in a tiebreaker against Memphis' Alisha Reayer, 7-6 (10-8). However, Klopfer lost the second set, 6-4, and Reayer earned the win after winning the tiebreaker third set 10-7.
The Milwaukee Tennis Classic is set to crown its 2019 winners on Monday with the final matches of both the singles and doubles draw for the men and the women at the Western Racquet Club.
The Midshipmen return home to host the Navy Blue & Gold Invitational from October 4-6 at the Brigade Sports Complex.
