BALTIMORE, Md. – Highlighted by sophomore
Emily Tannenbaum establishing a new single-season program record for combined wins, the Navy women's tennis team (18-4, 4-0 PL) extended its winning streak to nine matches and remained undefeated in the Patriot League with a 6-1 victory against host Loyola (8-12, 2-4 PL) on Wednesday afternoon at the McClure Tennis Center.
Surpassing Logan Antill's 48-win mark from 2013, Tannenbaum got her 49th combined win of the season with a victory at the No. 1 singles spot, giving the sophomore 28 singles wins in 2022-23 to go with 21 doubles victories. The nine straight wins by the Mids also marks their longest streak of the season after winning eight consecutive dual matches from Jan. 21 to Feb. 18 earlier this spring.
Loyola was able to claim its lone point of the afternoon by taking two of three doubles matches, as the Greyhounds battled back on the No. 2 and No. 3 court despite senior captain
Casey Accola and freshman
Sia Chaudry winning the top spot, 6-0, over Emi Shivkumar and Taylor Kuncl. The Greyhound's second pairing of Lauren Manwiller and Christine Richiez eventually pulled away for the 6-4 victory against the sophomore duo of
Kate Lee and
Parvathi Shanker, while Liza Tankimovich and Olivia Tracey battled out a 7-6 (7-5) tiebreaker win over junior
Corinne Farid and freshman
Hanna Elks Smith in the No. 3 spot to finish off the doubles comeback for Loyola.
Lee wasted no time evening the score with her 6-2, 6-0 win on the fifth singles court against Kuncl, while fellow sophomore
Sylvia Eklund made it 2-1 Navy when she pulled off the 7-5, 6-0 victory at the No. 6 position against Madison Metzdorf.
Junior
Samantha Johns then beat Katie Moorhead, 6-3, 6-1, on the No. 4 court to put the Mids on the verge of clinching, while Accola secured Navy's ninth-straight win when she defeated Tankimovich by a 6-4, 6-2 score in the No. 3 hole.
Tannenbaum needed three sets to defeat Manwiller in the top spot, but eventually got the record-breaking win via a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 score, while Chaudry completed the singles sweep when she notched a 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 victory against Richiez at the No. 2 matchup.
Keith Puryear Post-Match Comments
"It was good to get another Patriot League win today. Loyola always does a good job of being prepared to play against us, but we battled well while Coach Ale and I have given the ladies feedback on what we need to continue to focus on for our future competitions."
"While this is a team event and we all rise together, it's important to acknowledge Emily's accomplishments, as winning 49 matches in a season is tough. She plays No. 1 for singles and doubles, and week in and week out she's pitted against everyone's top player, meaning you've got to bring it every match. I think that's the true meaning of her breaking the record, it's her ability to compete every single match. Win or lose, she always willing to compete and put herself on the line. Her teammates and the coaching staff are appreciative of her efforts and congratulate her for the milestone."
Match Notes
• Navy is now 14-0 in the all-time series with Loyola.
• The Mids' nine-match win streak is tied for the fifth-longest winning stretch in program history.
• Tannenbaum's 15 wins at the No. 1 position this season also matches Erin Snook's program-record 15 wins at the top spot during the 2014 season.
• Tannenbaum's 28 singles victories this season puts her one shy of matching Amanda Keller's single-season program-record 29 wins during singles competition in 2015.
• With 23 singles wins this season, Chaudry needs just one more to move into a tie for sixth place in the program's single-season record book.
• Tannenbaum has won her last eight singles matches, while Accola is on a seven-match singles win streak and Eklund has a five-win singles streak following Wednesday's action.
• Accola and Chaudry have now won their last three doubles matches as a pairing.
Up Next
Navy hosts Patriot League foe Boston University on Saturday, April 15 in Annapolis to close out the regular season, with opening serve set for 11 a.m.
