ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Facing its second ranked opponent in a week's span, the Navy women's tennis team (10-4) could not capitalize on a good start Friday afternoon as the Midshipmen fell to No. 60 Liberty (6-3) by a 4-2 score at the Tose Family Tennis Center.
 
The Mids opened the afternoon with a sweep of the doubles matches, taking a 1-0 lead over the Flames. Wrapping up first, junior Emily Tannenbaum and freshman Olivia Fermo beat the No. 2 pairing of Marina Davtyan and Maria Turchetto, 6-2, while the junior duo of Kate Lee and Parvathi Shanker grabbed a 6-3 win over the No. 3 team of Daniella O'Neill and Priscila Janikian.
 
Closing out doubles play was senior Samantha Johns and sophomore Sia Chaudry with a 6-2 victory of their own on the top court against Tiffany Nguyen and Maria Juliana Parra Romero.
 
Liberty took the lead back with a pair of singles wins, as Nguyen knocked off senior captain Stella Ribaudo in a 6-1, 6-3 match at the No. 4 spot, while Turchetto earned a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Lee on the No. 6 court. O'Neill then notched a 6-4, 6-1 win over Shanker in the No. 5 position to put the Flames on the edge of clinching the match.
 
Johns briefly gave Navy life when she posted a 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win at the No. 2 position against Esther Lovato, but Davtyan clinched the Liberty victory by defeating Chaudry, 6-3, 6-7 (8-6) on the second court. Abandoning the match, the No. 1 court had Tannenbaum ahead of Parra Romero, 4-6, 7-5, 2-0, when it was called.
 
Coach Keith Puryear Comments
"Today's match was tough. We created opportunities but didn't capitalize enough to get the team win today. I liked how we came out today in doubles. Liberty plays good doubles and I thought we did things that we've been emphasizing and it paid off today. To their credit, Liberty shifted the momentum we gained, sweeping all six first sets in singles. Much credit to Sam and Emily for fighting back to win their second sets, as Sam came back to win her match and Emily was leading in her third set. Another bright spot was Sia, who was down in the second set, 5-2, but fought back to lose in the tiebreaker. We must use this experience to validate the good things we are doing in these matches and learn from our mistakes. Tomorrow's matches hold more challenges. Drexel has been ranked as high as No. 66 in the country and FDU is a perennial challenger for their conference championship."
 
Match Notes
• Liberty is now 4-0 in the all-time series with Navy.
• Tannenbaum is now tied for third in program history, matching Darien Sears' 136 career combined wins.
• Friday was the first home loss of the season for the Mids, moving them to 10-1 this season in Annapolis.
 
Up Next
Navy is set for a home doubleheader on Saturday, facing Drexel at 10 a.m. before hosting FDU in a 4 p.m. start.