BALTIMORE, Md. – The Navy women's tennis team (21-4, 4-0 Patriot League) returned to its winning ways on Wednesday, defeating Loyola (10-5-1, 3-3 Patriot League), 6-1, to remain perfect in Patriot League play through four matches. The Midshipmen won five of the six singles competitions, following a sweep of the three doubles matches.
 
Emily Tannenbaum (Fr., Commack, N.Y.) highlighted the effort of the Midshipmen against the Greyhounds, teaming up with Casey Accola (Jr., Winter Garden, Fla.) to earn a victory at the No. 3 doubles, prior to picking up a straight-set win at the No. 2 singles over Lauren Manwiller (6-1, 6-0).
 
"The coaching staff knew coming in that Loyola was on a good roll, having beaten Bucknell in their previous Patriot League match and being on a four-match win streak," said head coach Keith Puryear. "Playing any team in their house can be challenging. Loyola did a good job of creating discomfort in some of the matches. While at times our execution could have been better, we showed good resiliency. Moving forward, there are several areas we wish the ladies to continue to focus on as we head to Boston for our match versus BU."
 
To open play on Wednesday, the Midshipmen got off to a fast start as Accola and Tannenbaum combined to earn the aforementioned victory at the No. 3 doubles (6-1) over Abby Decker and Genevieve Wurtz. The No. 3 duo was followed by Kacey Moore (Sr., Wellington, Fla.) and Jillian Taggart (Jr., Fair Oaks, Calif.) who combined to down Anna Rico and Olivia Tracey (6-1) to secure the doubles point and a 1-0 lead for the Mids.
 
Following the clinching point in the No. 1 match, Katreina Corpuz (Sr., Ewa Beach, Hawai'i) and Meghana Komarraju (Sr., Vienna, Va.) completed the sweep of doubles for the Midshipmen with a victory at the No. 2 position over Manwiller and Jessica Bodewes (6-4).
 
"In doubles, while I like much of what we're seeing from our teams, there are still areas we can continue to improve upon," remarked Puryear of the Mids' effort in doubles. "In the extra matches, which can be critical to our team's success, we rolled. All three extra doubles teams, Sam (Johns) and Stella (Ribaudo), Corinne (Farid) and Parvathi (Shanker), along with Sylvia (Eklund) and Kate (Lee) all played very comprehensive matches, as did Kate and Sylvia in singles.
 
In singles, Tannenbaum was the first to secure victory for Navy, taking a straight-set decision (6-1, 6-0) over Manwiller. With the victory at the No. 2 singles, Tannenbaum now sits just one win away from tying the fifth-most singles victories for a season in program history (24).
 
The newcomer was followed by Komarraju at the No. 4 singles, as the senior team captain defeated Bodewes in a straight-set decision of her own (6-3, 6-0). Moore put the Mids just one point from clinching the match at the No. 3 singles, as the senior took a straight-set decision (6-3, 6-4) against Rico.
 
The fourth and deciding point of the match would be secured at the No. 6 position, as Stella Ribaudo (So., Chicago, Ill.) bested Wurtz in a two-set battle (7-6 [10-8), 6-3). After playing to a 6-6 deadlock in the first set, the sophomore was able to battle through the tiebreak to come away with the deciding point to win the set.
 
The lone point of the day for the Greyhounds would come next at the No. 1 singles, as Taggart was bested by Tracey in a three-set marathon (6-4, 6-7 [7-5], 10-5). The final match to be decided would go in favor of the Midshipmen, as Corpuz won a narrow, three-set match against Decker (6-4, 5-7, 10-7) to cap off the 6-1 victory for Navy over Loyola.
 
"Kat Corpuz showed great fortitude to beat a young lady (Olivia Tracey) who was 11-0 going into today's match and was the clincher against Bucknell," said Puryear of the singles competition. "Both Emily and Meghana played pretty clean matches to win in straights. Kacey and Stella had tough battles while winning in straight sets. After winning the first, Stella did a good job of maintaining her momentum in the second. Kacey did a good job of closing out a tough two-set battle. Jillian was valiant and courageous in losing a tough one at No. 1.
 
UP NEXT
Following its victory over Loyola, the Midshipmen will begin preparations for one of their biggest tests of the season to this point as they travel to take on Boston University. Both the Terriers and Mids have played to a perfect 4-0 record in Patriot League play this spring, with Saturday's match likely determining who will be the top-seeded team in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.