ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Kate Lee battled back from a 5-1 deficit and overcome a pair of championship points against her in a third-set tiebreaker to win 8-6 in the breaker and give the Navy women's tennis team (24-6) a dramatic 4-3 victory over Boston University (15-8), Sunday afternoon in the championship match of the Patriot League Tournament at the Fluegel-Moore Tennis Stadium in Annapolis.

The victory gives the second-seeded Mids their first league tournament crown and advances them to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

"It has been a lot of hard work," said Navy head coach Keith Puryear, who has been the program's only head coach since competing on the club level in 2009 followed by an inaugural varsity season in 2010. "I am still trying to process it all. The ladies worked so hard. From the start of the season, this has been one of our goals. We wanted to beat Army and win the league. To do it all over the course of the weekend ... first time we beat Army twice in a season, first time we beat Boston, first time we won the league ... it is a bit overwhelming to be honest. But these ladies showed their grit, their drive and how much they love one another as a team and as teammates. That's what you saw today."

"No words for this but we are excited to have won this first championship at home," said associate head coach Alessandra Pedergnana. "It means so much to so many and, for that, I want to say to all of our alumni who have built the foundation. This one is for you all."

Tournament top-seed Boston entered today having won each of the last four and eight of the nine league titles in which a tournament had been held (there was no tournament in 2020 due to COVID) since it joined the league for the 2015 spring season.

Navy was appearing in the championship match for the eighth time since making its first trip to the finals in 2011. 

The Terriers had defeated the Mids in the finals in 2015, 2016 and 2021. Boston won a 4-3 decision over Navy three years ago in Annapolis.

The Terriers had won all 12 previous matches played between the teams, including a 4-2 win 15 days ago in Boston. Navy had won the doubles points in the match played a fortnight and a day ago with wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 flight. Today, the Mids also earned the doubles point, this time with victories by the identical score of 6-4 at the Nos. 1 and 3 positions.

The first match to finish was at the No. 1 flight where Sia Chaudry and Samantha Johns defeated Blanka DeMichelo and Uma Bakaityte. The Mids trailed 3-2, but won the next three games to take a 5-3 advantage. After the Terriers made the score 5-4,  Navy closed out the set.

Navy's No. 3 tandem of Lee and Parvathi Shanker gained an early break of serve on Victoria Carlsten and Nina Gulbransen to take a 2-1 lead, then held serve to make the score 3-1. Each team held serve (4-2), then Mids broke the Terriers again to make the score 5-2. Boston broke Navy and then held serve to cut the deficit to 5-4, but the Mids served out the next game to earn the all-important point.

The remaining match at No. 2 between Navy's Olivia Fermo and Emily Tannenbaum and Boston's Kaitlin Tan and Emily Zhao was in a tiebreaker with the Terriers holding an early 2-1 lead when it was stopped due to the point being decided.

There were five rematches today from the respective singles lineups that took to the courts when the teams last met. The Terriers had won four of those matches with the fifth one, between Tannenbaum and Carlsten, left unfinished with the score tied 4-4 in the third set. Today, the teams split those four matches that were recently played to completion.

The first three singles matches to finish did so within five minutes of each other, and when the third one walked off the courts the score was tied, 2-2.

First, Boston's Ellie Gyuro registered a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Shanker at No. 6 singles. Bakaityte quickly followed with a 6-3, 6-3 win at the No. 2 flight over Johns. Next, Navy's Makaila Cheng defeated Sydney Sharma, 6-2, 6-0, at the No. 5 flight to even the overall score.

Gyuro had defeated Shanker and Bakaityte beat Johns earlier this year in Boston, while Cheng had posted a win over Rhea Rai, who was not in the lineup today for the Terriers.

Carlsten then edged Tannenbaum, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 1 singles to give the Terriers a 3-2 lead.

That left two matches playing on adjacent courts and Navy needing to win each and Boston being one victory away from the championship.

When the teams met on April 6, Tan had defeated Chaudry, 6-2, 6-4, and Zhao had posted a 6-1, 6-2 win over Lee.

Tan started today's match with a 6-0 win over Chaudry in the first set. Chaudry battled back to win the second set, 6-3, and carried that momentum into a 6-2 win in the third set.

Lee won today's first set against Zhao by the score of 6-2, only to see Zhao win the second set, 6-1, to send the last match remaining on the courts into a third set. Zhao gained an early break of serve, but Lee soon answered with a break to tie the frame at 4-4. Lee held (5-4), but so too did Zhao (5-5). That result repeated itself again to make the score 6-6 send the match into a decisive tiebreaker.

The players exchanged breaks of serve on the initial two points of the breaker, then Zhao held her second offering to take a 2-1 lead. Zhao then broke both of Lee's serves and held her next serve to jump in front, 5-1. Lee broke Zhao and held both of her serves to climb right back into the frame, albeit with a 5-4 deficit, and Zhao having the next two serves.

Zhao held her first serve to take a 6-4 lead and have two championship points. Lee fought off one point against her (6-5), then held serve to tie the score at 6-6. She held serve again to give Navy its first championship point in school history. A 163-minute match and a wait of more than a decade and a half for this opportunity came to an end when the lefty Zhau sent a forehand past the opposite baseline.

"I first want to talk about my senior class," said Puryear. "What you saw today was a reflection of who they are. Even though Sam didn't win today, even though Stella Ribaudo didn't play today, the team really follows the example they have set in terms of who we are and how they battle and how we interact as a team. And then the second class, they have taken that (guidance) and embodied it. Emily has been rock solid all year long. She wasn't able to get the win today, but in each and every match this year we have had different people who have stepped up. That's what you saw today. Emily and Sam did not win, so Sia, Kate and Makaila stepped up. I think our upper class has done a nice job of getting our younger players just an idea of who and what it means to be a member of Navy women's tennis. I am really proud of them, I am humbled by who they are and what they bring every single day to the table to represent the Naval Academy and our team and ourselves in an exemplary manner on and off the court."

The 2024 NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air at 6:30 p.m. on April 29 with the first and second rounds of the event slated for the first weekend in May.

"It (the NCAA Tournament) is going to be a great experience," said Puryear. "To have the selection show and traveling to probably a top-16 team, we are looking forward to it. It is something they have worked hard for and hopefully it spurs them to even greater successes down the line."

Navy 4, Boston U. 3
Doubles -- Navy wins the doubles point (1-3)
1. Sia Chaudry / Samantha Johns (NAVY) def. Blanka DeMicheli / Uma Bakaityte (BU) 6-4
2. Olivia Fermo / Emily Tannenbaum (NAVY) vs. Kaitlin Tan / Emily Zhao (BU) 6-6 (1-2), unfinished
3. Kate Lee / Parvathi Shanker (NAVY) def. Victoria Carlsten / Nina Gulbransen (BU) 6-4
Singles (5-2-6-1-3-4)
1. Victoria Carlsten (BU) def. Emily Tannenbaum (NAVY) 6-4, 7-5
2. Uma Bakaityte (BU) def. Samantha Johns (NAVY) 6-3, 6-3
3. Sia Chaudry (NAVY) def. Kaitlin Tan (BU) 0-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. Kate Lee (NAVY) def. Emily Zhao (BU) 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6)
5. Makaila Cheng (NAVY) def. Sydney Sharma (BU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Ellie Gyuro (BU) def. Parvathi Shanker (NAVY) 6-1, 6-0