ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's tennis team (12-1) extended its win streak to five-straight matches with a pair of 5-2 victories Saturday over Drexel (2-6) and Towson (1-5). The Midshipmen have now won 12 of their 13 matches this dual season, marking just the third time in program history (2012, 2020 and 2022) that they have accomplished the feat.
 
Navy went 5-0 over the two matches in doubles competition, with the No. 3 competition in the Drexel match being unfinished, while tallying a combined 8-4 mark in singles play. On the 2022 dual season, the Mids have totaled an outstanding record of 65-16 in singles matches, in addition to a 34-4 mark in doubles competition.

"It was a long, but fruitful day for Navy women's tennis," said head coach Keith Puryear. "We talked earlier in the week of the mindset we would need to be successful in today's match since we would be going from our Drexel match at home, then would be shifting gears to compete in another, on a different surface, in a matter of hours. Both Towson and Drexel should be commended for their fight, they did a good job of pushing us from start to finish in their respective matches. While we understand that we always win or lose as a team, and that every individual, win or lose, contributes to the success of the team, I would like to recognize a couple of individual performances that stood out in competing at both sites.

"Their selfless contribution today is typical of what each of the ladies on this team does daily to represent us in the exemplary manner in which they do. Sylvia (Eklund) played outstanding today in both doubles and singles, we are encouraged by her continued improvement. Meghana (Komarraju) had a good day, competing in singles at Navy, doubles at Towson. Stella (Ribaudo) continues to progress and learn with each match while Katreina (Corpuz) and Corinne (Farid) also did well in taking on the double site challenge today, with Corinne and Stella being the decider for the doubles point against Drexel. Casey Accola was our warrior of the day, she played great ball in both her singles, and the one doubles match she played today. Additionally, I like the direction of Jillian's (Taggart) game as we move towards spring break and the mid point of the season. Kacey (Moore) played comprehensive matches in both singles and doubles today and Kate fought off several sets points against a determined opponent. Parvathi (Shanker) and Corinne made a few critical adjustment down the stretch to secure the doubles sweep of us against Towson. Emily (Tannenbaum) combined with Casey to wrap up the doubles point against Towson, then she showed a lot of grit to came back to win a tight one at the No. 1 spot. After the Towson match there was a good discussion about few key takeaways from this weekend that should be carried forward conscientiously and consistently as we continue this season." 
 
Match One: Navy 5, Drexel 2
Following a pair of victories in doubles, Navy posted a sweep of singles play against Drexel that included winning four of the six matches in straight sets, securing a 5-2 victory over the Dragons.
 
Navy opened the competition against Drexel with a victory by the pairing of Kacey Moore (Sr., Wellington, Fla.) and Jillian Taggart (Jr., Fair Oaks, Calif.) (6-3) over the Dragons' Mya Fuentes and Lorie Lemongo in advance of securing the doubles point with a victory at the No. 2 doubles match by Corinne Farid (So., Columbia, Mo.) and Stella Ribaudo (So., Chicago, Ill.) over Corte Cristina and Tara Veluvolu (6-3) to take a 1-0 lead.
 
In the final doubles match of the competition, the Midshipmen duo of Sylvia Eklund (Fr., Bellevue, Wash.) and Kate Lee (Fr., Concord, Calif.) took on Drexel's Isabel Cabrerizo and Aida Garcia Medez at the No. 3 position. Eklund and Lee jumped out to a 5-4 lead over their counterparts, but saw the match go unfinished.
 
With the doubles point and a 1-0 lead secured, Komarraju extended the Navy advantage to two points with a victory at the No. 4 singles match in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) over Cabrerizo. Shortly after the win by Komarraju, Moore earned victory at the No. 2 position against Veluvolu (6-0, 6-3) to put the Mids just one point away from match victory.
 
Navy secured the fourth and deciding point of the match at the No. 5 singles contest as Casey Accola (Jr., Winter Garden, Fla.) earned a straight-set win over Fuentes (6-4, 6-2), prior to Lee earning the fifth point of the afternoon at the No. 6 position with a three-set win over Garcia Medez (7-6, 3-6, 10-5).
 
Drexel secured a pair of victories to round out the competition, beginning with Lemongo downing Taggart in the No. 1 singles competition (6-4, 6-4), before Renata Lombera defeated Katreina Corpuz (Sr., Ewa Beach, Hawai'i) in a three-set battle at the No. 3 competition (3-6, 6-4, 10-6).
 
Match Two: Navy 5, Towson 2
In the nightcap of its Saturday twin bill, the Midshipmen picked up where they left off against Drexel, sweeping all three doubles matches against Towson, prior to winning four of the six singles matches. Of the four wins in singles by Navy, three came in straight sets, en route to securing its fifth-straight victory in the 5-2 win over the Tigers.
 
The Mids began competition against Towson with a victory by the No. 1 pairing of Corpuz and Komarraju over Sissi Axelsson and Themis Haliou (6-2), before Accola and Tannenbaum earned a four-point win of their own (6-2) over the Tiger pairing of Lea Kosanovic and Ameilia Lawson to secure the doubles point and a 1-0 lead.  
 
With the 1-0 advantage in hand, the No. 3 pairing of Farid and Parvathi Shanker (Fr., Napa, Calif.) downed the Towson duo of Jessica Assenmacher and Antonia Lawson (7-5) to cap off the sweep of doubles play for the Mids.
 
In singles, Eklund netted the first win of the competition for the Mids at the No. 5 position in straight sets over Axelsson (6-1, 6-2) before Farid fell to Elessa Jacobs in the No. 6 match (7-6, 6-1) to bring the Navy advantage to 2-1.
 
Accola defeated Haliou at the No. 2 position (6-3, 7-5) to extend the Midshipmen lead to 3-1, followed by Ribaudo earning a straight-set victory over Assenmacher in the No. 3 match (7-5, 6-3) to secure the fourth and deciding point for Navy over Towson.
 
With its 12th victory of the season already secured, Navy dropped a point in the No. 4 match as Shanker fell to Sarah Pospischill in straight sets (6-3, 7-6) before Tannenbaum outlasted Lawson in a three-set marathon (6-2, 4-6, 6-4) to secure the 5-2 win for the Mids over the Tigers.
 
UP NEXT
Following its pair of victories on Saturday, Navy is slated to return to play March 11 at 5 p.m. as it welcomes Temple to the Tose Family Tennis Center.