ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– The Navy (13-5) men's tennis team will play six matches over the course of next four days during the program's spring break, starting with home matches Saturday against Temple (4-4) at 8 a.m. and Wagner (1-6) at 1:30 p.m. Both matches will be played in the Tose Family Tennis Center in Annapolis.
Navy Update
The Mids compiled a 2-2 record last weekend, losing two matches on Saturday and winning two duals on Sunday. Navy began the weekend by dropping a 5-2 decision at Yale and a 4-3 match at Drexel. The Mids bounced back the next day by defeating Howard, 7-0, and NJIT, 5-2.
Navy's doubles play has been very good since the start of the 2020 calendar. The Mids have posted a 36-13 (73.5%) record in doubles matches during in dual matches. Leading the way has been the tandem of
Derrick Thompson (So., Towson, Md.) and
Andrew Ton (Jr., Milpitas, Calif.) with a 7-1 record. In singles play,
Matthew Lee (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) has recorded nine wins in as many matches and
Conners O'Brien (So., Rensselaer, N.Y.) has been victorious in all but one of his eight matches.
Temple – Saturday, 8 a.m. – Tose Family Tennis Center
Temple will take its 4-4 record into a Friday match at Georgetown. The Owls already have defeated, among other teams, Wagner, George Washington and St. Francis Brooklyn (Navy defeated the Terriers, 5-2), and have lost matches to Florida, Fresno State and Penn (Navy lost to the Quakers, 7-0).
Temple compiled a 16-7 record a year ago and reached the semifinal round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Navy won a 4-3 decision over the Owls during the 2019 campaign. The Mids won the doubles point during the dual but had to win the last two singles matches remaining on the courts to earn the win.
Wagner – Saturday, 1:30 p.m. – Tose Family Tennis Center
Wagner's 1-6 record this season includes a victory over Staten Island and losses to St. John's, Monmouth (Navy defeated the Hawks, 4-0) and St. Francis Brooklyn.
The Seawolves tallied a 7-10 record last year, a ledger that included a 4-3 loss to Navy. Wagner held a 3-0 lead before the Mids won the final four singles matches to finish to rally for the victory.
UNCG – Monday, 2 p.m. – Greensboro, N.C.
The Spartans head into the weekend with a 3-4 record this spring. This overall record includes a 2-2 record in matches decided by the final score of 4-3 and a 4-0 loss to No. 17 Wake Forest. UNCG ended last season with a 7-15 overall record.
UNCG holds a 5-4 edge in the all-time series with Navy. Monday's match will be the first between the teams since 2011.
Campbell – Monday, 2 p.m. – Buies Creek, N.C.
The Camels will face Navy with a 4-3 record on the year. Campbell posted a record of 16-6 a season ago and reached the championship match of the Big South Conference Tournament.
Navy has won two of the three previous matches played in the series, but Campbell won the most recent meeting which took place in 2010.
Elon – Tuesday, 3 p.m. – Elon, N.C.
Elon has tallied a 4-7 record on the year and will play host to Richmond Monday before welcoming the Mids on Tuesday. Two of the team's losses have been to nationally-ranked teams North Carolina and North Carolina State. The Phoenix ended last season with a 21-5 record and a loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Georgia.
Elon has won the lone two prior matches it has played against Navy, winning by scores of 4-2 four years ago and 4-1 two seasons ago.
Davidson – Tuesday, 3 p.m. – Davidson, N.C.
Davidson is off from competition until facing Navy on Tuesday. The Wildcats enter their respite between matches with an 8-4 record. Davidson tallied a 13-9 record in 2019
Navy and Davidson have met sporadically over the years. The teams originally met in 1925 and 1933, but didn't square off again until 1972. It was a wait of over a quarter of a century before the teams met again in 1999. The most recent match in the series took place two years ago when Davidson defeated Navy, 6-1. That result winnowed Navy's lead in the series down to 3-2.
