ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Closing out the regular season on Wednesday afternoon, the Navy women's tennis (21-6) team rallied after a tough start to pick up a 6-1 victory over Morgan State (4-12) in non-conference action at the Fluegel-Moore Tennis Stadium.
 
The match served as the final tune-up before next week's Patriot League Tournament in Annapolis, with the Midshipmen winning eight of their last nine contests heading into the postseason.
 
Navy had a slow start to doubles play when the freshman duo of Olivia Fermo and Anna Jordaan fell by a 6-1 score to the Bears' No. 2 pairing of Averiana Mitchell and Iva Jankovic, while Morgan State secured the doubles point thanks to Hannah Smith and Lauryn Hall coming back from an early hole for a 7-6 (7-5) win on the top court over junior Parvathi Shanker and rookie Julia Lee. Finishing off the doubles sweep for the Bears at the No. 3 spot were Aleksandra Evdokimova and Stefania Moysiadi holding on for a 7-6 (8-6) against freshmen Carly Mew and Manci Pal.
 
Heading into singles action, freshman Makaila Cheng helped Navy even the score with a 6-2, 6-1 win against Jankovic at the No. 3 position, while senior Samantha Johns gave the Mids the lead by posting a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Evdokimova.
 
At the No. 5 spot, junior Sylvia Eklund defeated Moysiadi in a 6-2, 6-0 match to put Navy on the verge of clinching while Fermo notched the deciding singles point with a 6-1, 6-4 win against Mitchell.
 
Playing out the contest, Navy continued the singles sweep with Shanker beating Hall, 6-1, 6-2 on the fourth court and junior Kate Lee winning the last four points of her three-set match against Smith, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, on the second court.
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 10-0 in the all-time series with Morgan State.
• The Mids have reached the 21-win plateau for the seventh time as a program in just 12 full seasons.
• Cheng has now won her last five singles matches, tying Emily Tannenbaum for the current team lead.
 
Up Next
Navy hosts the Patriot League Tournament on April 18-21 in Annapolis.