ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Battling a pair of mid-major foes, the Navy women's tennis team (14-5) split its first doubleheader of the week at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., dropping a 7-0 match to No. 40 Princeton (9-3) before bouncing back for a 4-3 win later in the day against Butler (10-8).
 
Princeton Recap
The Mids fell into an early hole when the Tigers' No. 3 pairing of Alice Ferlito and Neha Velaga defeated juniors Kate Lee and Parvathi Shanker, 6-2, and No. 2 Princeton team of Eva Elbaz and Isabella Chhiv knocked off freshman Olivia Fermo and junior Emily Tannenbaum, 6-3, to secure the doubles point for Princeton. Trailing 4-3 at the time, sophomore Sia Chaudry and senior Samantha Johns had their match abandoned on the top court against Madeleine Jessup and Maia Sung.
 
In singles action, junior Sylvia Eklund fell victim to Chhiv in the No. 5 spot, losing 6-0, 6-0, while Elbaz soon after defeated rookie Manci Pal by a 6-2, 6-1 score in the No. 6 match. Clinching the ninth Princeton win of the season was Jessup, who picked up the No. 4 singles win over freshman Makaila Cheng, 6-0, 6-1, and Ferlito added to the lead when she beat freshman Anna Jordaan, 7-5, 6-2, in the No. 4 position. Playing out their matches, Tannenbaum had her 13-match singles winning streak snapped by Velaga, who got the 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory over Navy's top player, while Johns was beaten by Leena Bennetto on the second court, 4-6, 6-2, 10-6, to end her own seven-match win streak.
 
Butler Recap
The Bulldogs quickly got the upper hand in doubles play, as Natalie Boesing and Chase Metcalf posted a 6-0 win on the No. 1 court over Eklund and Jordaan. Delaney Schurhamer and Jordan Schildcrout then locked up the doubles point for Butler when they defeated Cheng and fellow freshman Julia Lee, 6-4, in the No. 2 spot, while Chaudry and Pal pulled out a 7-6 (10-8) victory against the Bulldogs' No. 3 pairing of Norah Balthazor and Lauren Cook to avoid the doubles sweep.
 
Fermo got Navy back in the match when she beat Cook by a 6-1, 6-2 score at the No. 5 singles spot, while Schurhamer knocked off senior captain Stella Ribaudo in the No. 2 position, 6-3, 6-3, to give Butler the lead again. Fighting back, Navy got wins from Julia Lee at the No. 6 spot (6-3, 6-2 over Katie Beavin) and Kate Lee on the No. 4 court (6-4, 6-3 over Elle Martin) before Chaudry sealed the Navy victory when she outlasted Boesing on the top court, 3-6, 6-4, 10-8. Rounding out the day was Shanker falling just short on the No. 3 court to Balthazor, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
 
Coach Keith Puryear Comments
"I thought today's matches contained great takeaways for us as a team. Princeton was good, but I think we left with a good sense of where we are. We created opportunities for ourselves, but couldn't capitalize enough in some cases. I thought both Em and Sam had performances that stood out, while Anna also did a good job of competing today."
 
"In the second match, we let things get away from us on a couple of the courts in doubles, but Manci and Sia battled to win a tough one. Because we lost the doubles point, we needed to dig it out in singles and have tough competitive matches all around. Kudos to Liv, Julia, Kate and Sia to get us the points needed to secure the win. I also thought that Parv, while losing in three sets, competed well and came up just short. We'll focus on recovering and having a concentrated practice tomorrow in preparation for Wednesday's competitions."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 0-2 all-time against Princeton, while the Mids now hold a 1-0 all-time record over Butler.
• Tannenbaum's defeat against Princeton ended her undefeated spring season and marked her first loss since Oct. 19, 2023.
• Chaudry is 3-0 this season when playing No. 1 singles.
 
Up Next
Navy will wrap up its spring break trip on Wednesday, facing Marist (11:30 a.m.) and Marquette (6:30 p.m.) at the USTA National Campus.