WEST POINT, N.Y. – Navy women's tennis (2-2, 0-1 Patriot League) dropped its second-straight match after falling to Army (7-2, 4-0 Patriot League), 5-2, in the Star Match in West Point, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon.
"While this is not the result we wanted, we feel this team has immense potential that we are only beginning to actualize," head coach
Keith Puryear commented. "As we talked about after the match, this must be one that we assess, own and learn from. We have four weeks left in the season. We must be honest with ourselves regarding what sacrifices will be necessary to accomplish our goals. We are going to work and continue to improve."
Army got off to the early lead with a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles with Stephanie Dolehide and Caroline Vincent outlasting
Miranda Deng (North Potomac, Md.) and
Jillian Taggart (So., Fair Oaks, Calif.). At No. 2, the pair of
Katreina Corpuz (Jr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) and
Meghana Komarraju (Jr., Vienna, Va.) edged out Ana Joyner and Sam DiMaio in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-2).
With the doubles point hanging in the balance, Navy's freshman pair
Corinne Farid (Columbia, Mo.) and
Samantha Johns (Simpsonville, S.C.) fell short at No. 3 doubles with Sasha Inchauste and Hannah Boubel winning a 7-6 (7-4) decision to clinch the doubles point for Army.
"Doubles was tight on each court as each of the matches came down to a few critical points in the match, particularly at No. 2 and No. 3. Meghana and Katreina did a great job of scrapping after falling behind early to work their way back to win at No. 2 doubles," Puryear said.
In singles, Army carried the momentum from doubles into the singles with opening set wins at each court. Joyner doubled Army's lead at No. 1 singles with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Taggart. Then Paola Bou put Army on the brink of victory after beating Deng in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
"Jillian, despite falling in straight sets, is improving and absorbing information with each match played," Puryear continued. "Miranda at No. 4 created opportunities for herself early in both sets but was not able to capitalize on those she created. It will be important moving forward that she do a better job of taking advantage of those types of opportunities created."
The clinching match for the Black Knights came at No. 2 singles where Dolehide defeated
Kacey Moore (Jr., Wellington, Fla.), 6-2, 6-4.
"Kacey fell behind early, fought off a few match points to go from 5-2 to 5-4 but ultimately the lead was too great to overcome. Her fight and desire are unquestioned but it will be the small things that we have been focusing on with her that will make the difference in the matches to come," Puryear mentioned.
In the final three matches on the court, Navy won the second sets to force each of the three into a decisive third set. At No. 5, Corpuz rallied to beat Boubel, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1, and then Johns upended DiMaio, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 6 singles. Army secured the 5-2 win with Vincent winning a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 match at No. 3 singles against Komarraju.
"Singles followed the same theme. We lost the first set on all six courts but fought back to win the second at No. 3, 5 and 6. Katreina at No. 5 and Samantha at No. 6 each did a great job to battle to win in three sets. Meghana while falling in three sets showed fight and grit, and just needs to be a bit cleaner in the critical moments of the match."
Navy continues its Patriot League slate next weekend on the road against Lehigh at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
