SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Seven players on the Navy men's tennis team won a match during a 4-0 victory by the Mids (23-19) over Boston U. (14-12), Sunday afternoon at the Drumlins Tennis Club in Syracuse, N.Y., in the championship match of the Patriot League Tournament.

The final score is not an accurate reflection of just how close the singles matches were between the top-seeded Mids and third-seeded Terriers as five of them reached third sets.

Navy has now won five-straight Patriot League Tournament titles –– the longest run of championships won by a league team in the sport –– as well as 11 crowns in the last 15 years and 15 in program history.  Additionally, the Mids have now won 43-consecutive matches against Patriot League opponents (includes regular season and tournament) dating back to the 2018 spring season.

Navy will be in the NCAA Tournament field of 64 teams when the bracket is announced Monday, May 1, during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show at 6:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.  The first and second rounds of the tournament will be played May 5-8.

Navy played really well in taking the doubles point today as the Mids jumped out to leads of 4-1 at No. 1 and 5-1 at both Nos. 2 and 3.  Team captain Finn Garner (Sr., Arnold, Md.), who tore his ACL in October before returning to the lineup in March, teamed with Nathan Nguyen (Fr., McLean, Va.) for a 6-2 win over Jonah Dickson and Cole Knutsen at No. 2 doubles in the first match to finish.  The point became Navy's when its No. 3 tandem of Christian Pumpelly (Sr., Atlanta, Ga.) and Saturday's semifinal hero Gavin Segraves (Sr., Charlottesville, Va.) posted a 6-3 win over Adrian Pawlowski and Johann Sajonz at No. 3 doubles.

The remaining match had Navy's No. 1 pairing of Luke Garner (So., Arnold, Md.) and Sasha Panyan (Jr., Lutherville, Md.) leading Alejandro Licea and Dion Loutas by the score of 5-2 when play was stopped.

"Our doubles teams across the lineup came ready to play from start to finish," said Navy head coach Chris Garner, who has guided the Mids to six titles in his eight years in which the event has been played.  

With the doubles point in hand the Mids needed to win just three singles matches to claim the championship and the Terriers had to win four.  Winning four singles matches was exactly what Boston U. did Saturday in defeating Army, 4-2, in the semifinal round.

Navy would win the first set in four singles matches, but three of those matches would soon be extended into third sets, as were two additional matches.

The lone player to win a straight-set match was Panyan, as he posted a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles to make the score 2-0.

"Sasha played a terrific match to get us our second point," said Garner, "but everyone else was in a very competitive match."

Navy's Herrick Legaspi (Fr., Sacramento, Calif.) lost the first set of his No. 4 singles match to Knutsen, 6-4, but won the second set by the score of 6-1.  Legaspi trailed, 4-3 in the third set, but won the next three games to win his match and increase the team's advantage to 3-0.

It appeared that the Terriers were on their way to making the score 3-1 as Licea held a 5-1 lead in the third set of his No. 3 singles match against Luke Garner.  Garner won the first set, 6-3, then Licea took the second set, 6-2, before he jumped out to the big lead in the third set.  

Much like Saturday when Segraves rallied from a 5-0 third-set deficit at No. 2 singles to win in a tiebreaker in what was the last match left on the courts in Navy's 4-3 win over Bucknell, Garner chipped away and soon held a 6-5 advantage over Licea.  Licea held serve to force a tiebreaker, but as that was about to begin Aniketh Ayinala (Fr. Charlotte, N.C.) completed a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Dickson at No. 6 singles to finish play in the tournament.

Segraves held a 6-2, 5-7, 3-1 lead over Corey Craig at No. 2 singles and Boston's Ben Letzer led J.J. Etterbeek (Fr., Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 6-4, 2-6, 3-2, at No. 5 singles in the last two matches.  Segraves had won three-straight games and Etterbeek was serving with a 40-15 lead when Ayinala's match finished.

"Gavin played another incredible match," said Garner.  "He was up, 3-1 in the third set, on one of the best players in the league.  Luke battled back from his 5-1 deficit to reach a tiebreaker.  Herrick came back from being a set and break points down late in the third set to earn the third point.  J.J. also fought back from being down a set and was in a very close third set.  Aniketh played a great final set to get us the fourth point."

Panyan, who won a pair of matches at both No. 1 singles and doubles this weekend and was one game away from winning each of his additional two matches, was named the MVP of the tournament.

Navy 4, Boston U. 0
Doubles -- Navy wins the doubles point (2-3)
1. Garner, Luke / Panyan, Sasha (NAVY) vs. Licea, Alejandro / Loutas, Dion, 5-2, unfinished
2. Garner, Finn / Nguyen, Nathan (NAVY) def. Dickson, Jonah / Knutsen, Cole, 6-2
3. Pumpelly, Christian / Segraves, Gavin (NAVY) def. Pawlowski, Adrian / Sajonz, Johnann, 6-3
Singles (1-4-6)
1. Panyan, Sasha (NAVY) def. Loutas, Dion, 6-2, 6-3
2. Segraves, Gavin (NAVY) vs. Craig, Corey, 6-2, 5-7, 3-1, unfinished
3. Garner, Luke (NAVY) vs. Licea, Alejandro, 6-3, 2-6, 6-6, unfinished
4. Legaspi, Herrick (NAVY) def. Knutsen, Cole, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
5. Letzer, Ben (BOS)  vs. Etterbeek, J.J., 6-4, 2-6, 3-2, unfinished
6. Ayinala, Aniketh (NAVY) def. Dickson, Jonah, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4