ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Hosting the 2024 Patriot League Championship on its home courts, the No. 2 seed Navy women's tennis team (21-6, 4-1 PL) is set to open up the tournament against seventh-seeded Bucknell (10-12, 2-5 PL) in the league quarterfinals. Opening serve is slated for 3:15 p.m. on Friday afternoon, April 28 at the Fluegel-Moore Tennis Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
 
The four-day league tournament gets started with a first-round match between Lafayette and Holy Cross on Thursday, while Friday's four quarterfinal contests will be followed by the semifinals on Saturday and Sunday's championship match. The winner between the Midshipmen and Bison will face off against the winner of the No. 3 Army/No. 6 Colgate quarterfinal showdown, with that semifinal meeting set for 2 p.m. and Sunday's league final scheduled for 1 p.m. In the case of inclement weather, the championship will be moved next door to the Tose Family Tennis Center.
 
Recapping the Regular Season
Going 21-6 overall, the Mids posted a 4-1 mark in Patriot League by claiming its first four league matches before falling to top-seeded Boston University in the regular season finale on April 6 … With junior Kate Lee's singles win being the clinching point, Navy took down rival Army in the annual Star Match on March 30, as the Mids have won their last three regular-season meetings with the Black Knights … Navy put together a season-long seven-match winning streak from March 11 against Butler through its March 30 victory against Army, including all four of the Mids' league wins … With a 16-1 singles record in dual action, junior Emily Tannenbaum paces the team in singles dual wins along senior Samantha Johns' 16-4 dual mark, while Tannenbaum also leads the team with a 13-4 doubles record in dual matches.
 
Puryear Reaches Another Milestone
Just weeks after achieving one milestone, head coach Keith Puryear reached another career milestone with the March 2 win over Drexel … After notching his 200th home win with the Mids on Feb. 17, Puryear earned his 500th victory as a women's head coach by defeating Drexel, as he collected 215 wins as the UMBC women's coach and now has 295 victories at Navy … Including his time as UMBC's men's coach, Puryear now has 738 career coaching wins.
 
Tannenbaum Chasing Records
Tannenbaum has been near-dominant this spring, posting a 17-1 singles record in dual matches … Already this spring, the junior has reset the program record for single-season singles wins (31) and career No. 1 singles victories (35) … Now sitting alone at third in program history with 84 career singles wins, Tannenbaum needs five more to catch Amanda Keller for second … Sitting third in program history with 150 career combined wins as well, Tannenbaum needs one more to catch Erin Snook for second … Ranking fourth in program history with 66 career doubles wins, Tannenbaum needs two more doubles victories to catch Claudia Mackenzie for third in the record books.
 
Navy at the Patriot League Championship
The Mids are seeking the first league title in program history this weekend, having advanced to the semifinal-or-better every year since debuting at the Patriot League's tournament in 2010 … In 13 PL Championships, the Mids have reached the league finals seven times, with the most recent appearance in the championship match coming in 2021 … Navy has previously earned the league's No. 2 in 2011, 2013, 2019, 2022 and 2023, going a combined 7-5 in those five tournaments … The Mids are 6-3 in league tournament matches played in Annapolis … Last year's Patriot League Championship saw the No. 2 Mids notch a 4-0 win over Loyola in the quarterfinals in West Point, N.Y., but Navy could not overcome rival Army, 4-2, in the semifinal round a day later.
 
Scouting Bucknell
The Bison have compiled a 10-12 record so far, going 2-5 in league play with wins over Lafayette and Loyola … Abby Platt paces the team with a 19-8 singles record, while Whitney King is right behind her at 18-9 … Platt and King are 22-5 as a doubles pairing … King was an All-Patriot League First Team pick last season.
 
Series History
Through 18 matches, Navy holds a 17-2 over Bucknell, claiming the last 17 meetings between the teams … The meeting between the teams earlier this spring ended in a 6-1 Navy win on March 24, as the Mids swept doubles play before Tannenbaum, Johns sophomore Sia Chaudry, Lee and freshman Makaila Cheng all claimed singles victories.