ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's tennis team travels back to Orlando, Florida this week for its final three matches before the start of Patriot League play later this month.
 
Competing at the USTA National Campus, the Midshipmen will face UConn on Monday, March 13 in a 4 p.m. contest, before turning around to battle South Dakota at 11:30 a.m. and Niagara at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14.
 
Last Time Out
Navy fell to Delaware, 6-1, in its last match on March 4, as the Blue Hens came into Annapolis on a winning streak they were able to extend to eight matches … Facing the then-No. 3 national pairing of UD's Adel-Byanu Abidullina and Eliza Askarova, sophomore Emily Tannenbaum and junior Samantha Johns nearly tied their doubles match late before losing via a 7-5 final, while freshman Sia Chaudry and senior captain Casey Accola dropped a 6-4 match to the CAA Doubles Team of the Week, Isabella Montana and Alina Vasilenko, that handed UD the doubles point … In singles play, both Tannenbaum and Chaudry forced three sets but eventually fell to their Blue Hen counterparts, while Johns picked up her second singles win of the season at the No. 6 spot with a 6-4, 7-6 (11-9) victory over Montana … Johns and Tannenbaum's doubles match marked the first time this season that the Mids have faced a ranked doubles pairing, and it also marked the highest-ranked opposing doubles pairing in program history,
 
Sunshine State Once Again
The Mids will be making the trek to Florida for the second time this spring, as the team went 2-0 on its last trip to the Sunshine State … Navy claimed a 4-3 victory on Feb. 17 at Tampa, using wins on the second and third doubles courts to jump out in front, while singles victories from Tannenbaum, Chaudry and sophomore Parvathi Shanker clinched the dual match … The Mids then squared off against rival service academy Air Force for the first time in program history on Feb. 18 at the USTA National Campus, battling back after dropping the doubles point with singles wins from Shanker, junior Stella Ribaudo, and Tannenbaum that handed Navy the lead, while Chaudry's three-set win on the No. 2 court sealed the 4-2 Navy victory.
 
Prepping for the Stretch Run
Following the three matches in Orlando, Navy begins Patriot League action with back-to-back matches, playing on March 25 at Lehigh and then traveling the short distance to Bucknell for a March 26 contest … The Mids then head to West Point, N.Y., for the April 1 Star Match against Army, returning home the following weekend for non-conference tilts with Georgetown (April 7) and LIU (April 8 – Senior Day) … Navy closes out the regular season with an April 12 showdown at Loyola Maryland and a battle at home on April 15 against Boston University … The stretch consists of seven matches (five league contests) in a 22-day span.
 
Scouting UConn
The Huskies enter Monday with a 7-3 record this spring and a 1-1 mark in BIG EAST action … UConn saw a four-game winning streak snapped in its last contest, falling to conference foe Creighton, 5-2, on March 10 in Orlando … Maria Constantinou paces the team with a 14-7 overall singles record this season, while Aleksandra Karamyshev leads the Huskies this spring with a 7-3 mark in dual-match singles action … Karamyshev and Isabel Petri Bere have the most dual-match wins for a UConn doubles pairing with a 6-4 record.
 
Scouting South Dakota
The Coyotes are 1-7 overall this season, sitting a 0-1 in the Summit League so far … The team's lone spring win was a 7-0 victory over Sioux Falls, while South Dakota's most recent match was a 5-2 loss at North Dakota on March 5 … Both Paige Alter and Grace Chadick have a team-high nine singles wins, while Alter and Chadick have paired up to got 6-7 in doubles play this year, including a 2-3 mark in dual-match action … Bea Havlickova and Estella Jaeger went 7-1 as a doubles pairing during the fall.
 
Scouting Niagara
The Purple Eagles are 3-6 in dual matches this season, going 2-4 since the calendar turned to 2023 … Niagara heads down to Florida on a three-game slide after beating Binghamton on Feb. 10, losing to Saint Francis (Pa.) and Buffalo before dropping a 7-0 contest to Quinnipiac in the Purple Eagles' MAAC opener … 2021-22 All-MAAC First Team selection Erika Gonzalez returns for NU.
 
Series Histories
Navy's showdowns with UConn, South Dakota and Niagara will be the first dual-match meetings between the Mids and those respective schools in program history … Navy is 24-7 against current BIG EAST schools … It will be the first time Navy faces a current member of the Summit League in women's tennis … The Mids are 10-0 in dual matches against current MAAC schools.
 
Up Next
Navy opens Patriot League play with a pair of road contests on back-to-back days, heading to Leigh on March 25 and then trekking to Bucknell on March 26. Both matches are set for 10 a.m.