BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Navy women's tennis (3-2, 1-1 Patriot League) snapped its two-match skid with a 6-1 road win over Lehigh (4-2, 3-1 Patriot League) on Saturday at the Ulrich Varsity Tennis Courts in Bethlehem, Pa. Navy now moves to 13-0 against Lehigh and the Midshipmen have won four of their last five contests against the Mountain Hawks by a 6-1 scoreline.
The win by the Midshipmen also snapped a two-match winning streak for the Mountain Hawks.
"We knew Lehigh was a hot team, coming into the weekend on a multi-match winning streak. Lehigh is a well-coached team and came into the match with passion and purpose. Today it was important that everyone step into the roles we needed them to play," head coach
Keith Puryear said after the match. "We were very pleased with the way the ladies fought and executed the game plans they were given."
The Midshipmen started the match on a strong note and won all three singles matches to take the 1-0 lead early on. The senior pair of
Miranda Deng (North Potomac, Md.) and
Tina Li (Wexford, Pa.) got the day started for Navy with a 6-1 win at the No. 2 doubles position against Rachel Buchinsky and Ella Imhof. Then at No. 3,
Kacey Moore (Jr., Wellington, Fla.) and
Stella Ribaudo (Fr., Chicago, Ill.) won a 6-4 decision over Junmoke James and Anshika Singh.
With the doubles point in hand, the duo of
Katreina Corpuz (Jr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) and
Meghana Komarraju (Jr., Vienna, Va.) trailed 5-1 early on but the pair rallied to upend Paula Gonzalez and Leighanna Moskos, 7-5, at the No. 1 doubles position.
"The doubles teams did a good job of getting us on the board. Miranda and Tina worked well together to win at No. 2. Followed by Kacey and Stella, who got an early lead and then were able to withstand Lehigh's push at the end. Meghana and Katreina fought from down 5-1 to win at No. 1 doubles," Puryear commented.
After rallying during her doubles match, Corpuz carried that momentum into her singles match and she rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles over Casey Zhong to double Navy's lead. Deng put the Midshipmen on the brink of victory at No. 3 after a 6-1, 6-3 win against James. Ribaudo secured the win for Navy with her straight-set win at No. 6 singles over Singh, 6-2, 6-3.
Komarraju extended the Midshipmen's lead to 5-0 after she defeated Imhof at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 6-4. Playing her first match of the season at No. 1 singles, Moore outlasted Gonzalez to win the match, 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8). In the final match left on the court, Buchinsky got Lehigh on the board to close out the day as she edged out Li at No. 5 singles, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 1-0 (10-4), but Navy grabbed the 6-1 victory for its first Patriot League win of the season.
"In singles, we did a good job of getting the first set in five of the six matches. Kacey moved up to the No. 1 position and beat a tough All-League performer in Paula Gonzalez in three sets. Meghana, Miranda, Katreina and Stella fought like crazy to win in straight sets," Puryear concluded. "Tina, while losing in three sets, showed the grit and fight we expect from every member of Navy women's tennis.
"The ladies did an excellent job today. It was impressive to see these seven step up to play the roles we needed in this match today."
Navy is back on the road this week for two matches as it travels to Loyola on Wednesday for a 3 p.m. match. The Midshipmen then make the trip to Bucknell on Sunday.
