ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Led by seven returners from last season, the Navy women's tennis team is set to open the 2023-24 campaign on Friday, as the Midshipmen host the 14th Annual Bill & Sandra Moore Invitational this weekend in Annapolis, Md.
 
With head coach Keith Puryear and associate head coach Alessandra Pedergnana kicking off their 16th leading the program, Navy will welcome seven teams to the Fluegel-Moore Tennis Stadium and Tose Family Tennis Center this weekend, as tournament action starts up Friday at noon. Competition on Saturday and Sunday is slated to begin at 9 a.m.
 
Tournament Information
Singles play will be broken up into five draws, while doubles competition is set for three flights … Friday includes doubles action up to semifinals in both the main and consolation draws, while main-draw singles goes up to the quarterfinals … Saturday will feature the semifinals of main draw & consolation doubles, along with the quarterfinals and semifinals of main singles and consolation singles … Sunday is set to have the doubles and singles finals in both main-draw action and consolation play.
 
Scouting the Competition
The Mids are scheduled to host Binghamton, Fairleigh Dickinson, George Mason, Mary Washington, Monmouth, St. Bonaventure and Patriot League foe Lehigh at the Moore Invitational … Six of the seven teams also attended the 2022 edition of the Moore Invitational, while Fairleigh Dickinson competed at last year's Navy Fall Invitational … Navy also faced off against George Mason, Lehigh and St. Bonaventure during the spring's dual season, defeating the Bonnies, 6-1, before sweeping both the Patriots and Mountain Hawks, 7-0, later in the campaign.
 
2022-23: The Year of TannenBOOM
Junior standout Emily Tannenbaum had a historic season in 2022-23, setting multiple program records en route to becoming the second Patriot League Player of the Year in program history … Leading the team in singles and doubles wins for the second consecutive season, Tannenbaum matched a program record with 29 singles victories, tying Amanda Keller's 2015 mark, while also tallying 22 doubles victories that put her eighth in the program's single-season record books … The 51 combined victories established a new program record, passing Logan Antill's 48 combined wins in 2013, while Tannenbaum's 16 singles victories in the No. 1 position surpassed another program record, the 15 wins by Erin Snook at the top spot during the 2014 season … A two-time Patriot League Player of the Week and the San Diego Veterans Tennis Classic MVP, Tannenbaum also posted an 11-6 mark in dual-match doubles play as part of the No. 1 pairing … For her efforts, Tannenbaum earned the Atlantic region's No. 19 singles player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Year-End Regional Rankings.
 
Captaining the Crew
Taking over the team captain duties this season is senior Stella Ribaudo, fresh off a 2022-23 season that saw her take home Academic All-Patriot League Team honors … Ribaudo posted 17 singles wins and 12 doubles victories this past season, capturing the Midshipmen's only ranked win of the campaign … A native of Chicago, Ill., Ribaudo went 9-8 in dual-match singles action, including going 2-1 in Patriot League matches, while primarily playing at the No. 2 singles position … Posting a 1-1 record against ranked opponents, Ribaudo had the biggest individual singles win of the season when she defeated No. 75 Petra Sedlackova of Alabama in three sets … In the classroom, Ribaudo has garnered a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll in 2021 and 2022 while taking home 2022 ITA Scholar Athlete distinction in 2022.
 
Veteran Experience
With seven total returners, the Mids return five of their top-six singles players from last season, as do two of the top-three doubles pairings … Despite the loss of the graduated Casey Accola in the middle of the singles lineup, Tannenbaum, Ribaudo, sophomore Sia Chaudry, senior Samantha Johns and junior Kate Lee all return … Tannenbaum and Johns formed the No. 1 Navy pairing for most of the spring as well, going 10-5 overall as a duo, while Lee and fellow junior Parvathi Shanker found success as the No. 3 pairing … Chaudry was partnered with the departed Accola, as the duo went 3-1 in Patriot League play.
 
Counting the Newcomers
Puryear and Pedergnana added six newcomers to the roster for this season, as the group of freshmen will challenge for playing time this season … A four-star recruit by the USTA, Makaila Cheng was a two-time state doubles finalist in California … Olivia Fermo was also a four-star recruit by the USTA and the Tennis Recruiting Network … The Colorado State No. 1 Singles Champion as a sophomore and senior, Anna Jordaan is another four-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network that will suit up for the Mids … A three-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network, Julia Lee finished second in the Texas 6A Tournament as a freshman and helped her Rick Reedy team claim the 6A district championship as a senior … Carly Mew helped Robinson Secondary School advance to the Virginia Class 6 Finals as a senior, going undefeated in doubles play … Another three-star recruit, Manci Pal helped Saint Andrew's School take home the Class 1A FHSAA State Championship three times, being part of the team as a freshman that finished third in the high school national championship.
 
Puryear's Milestones
After reaching his 250th win at Navy during the 2021-22 season, the 2022-23 campaign saw Puryear clear another coaching benchmark, as the veteran coach captured his 700th overall victory with a 6-1 win over St. Bonaventure on Jan. 21, 2023 … Puryear stares down another milestone this season, as he is 11 wins away from reaching 500 women's victories, holding 489 wins as a women's coach between UMBC and Navy … He also needs 26 more wins to reach 300 victories with the Mids, holding a 274-94 record at the helm of the Navy program that he started in 2008.
 
Recapping the 2022 Moore Invitational
The 13th annual Bill & Sandra Moore Invitational had Navy earn four main-draw winners, highlighted by Tannenbaum being the last one standing in both the singles "A" draw and the doubles "A" draw … Winning the "A" doubles flight alongside Tannenbaum was Accola, who also faced Tannenbuam in the final match of the "A" singles bracket, while Shanker claimed the singles "C" draw via tiebreaker.
 
Up Next
Navy will send two members of its team to the prestigious Milwaukee Tennis Classic on Sept. 22-24.