WEST POINT, N.Y. -- The Navy men's tennis team opened Patriot League Tournament play with a 4-0 victory over Loyola, Friday evening at the Malek Tennis Courts in West Point, N.Y.  The quarterfinal round victory by the second-seeded Mids (27-14) over the seventh-seeded Greyhounds (7-14) advances them to a Saturday (2 p.m.) semifinal match against third-seeded Bucknell.

The match started well over two hours later than originally scheduled due to the extended length of the day's earlier matches.  Despite the delay, Navy came out ready to go as it lost just one game in the three doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead.  Luke Garner and Sasha Panyan defeated Oliver Davey and Nicholas Haggar, 6-0, at the No. 1 flight.  Finishing at nearly the same time was the No. 3 match where Herrick Legaspi and Nathan Nguyen also did not surrender a game in defeating Matt Cardano and Cristian Pemueller.

Navy's Aniketh Ayinala and J.J. Etterbeek led George Cavo and Nick Lawliss, 5-1, at No. 2 doubles when the match was halted.

"We had a strong start in doubles, up and down the lineup," said Navy head coach Chris Garner.

Panyan and Legaspi continued their effective play as each lost just one game –– Panyan in the first set against Cardano, Legaspi in the second set against Haggar –– in winning at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, to make the score 3-0.

Ayinala matched the effort of his teammates by winning, 6-1, 6-0, over Ryan Boland at No. 6 singles to close play.

"Sasha and Herrick had quick starts in singles," said Garner, "and Aniketh rode that momentum in his straight-set win."

In the remaining matches, Garner led Davey, 6-1, 2-1, at No. 3, Steve Nguyen held a 6-3, 2-1 advantage over Lawliss at No. 4 and Etterbeek was ahead of Cavo, 6-1, 5-0, at No. 5.

The Bison posted a 4-0 victory over No. 6 Colgate Friday afternoon.

Navy tallied a 5-2 win over Bucknell when the teams met earlier this spring.  The Mids recorded a 4-3 victory over the Bison in the semifinal round of the 2023 Patriot League Tournament.

Navy 4, Loyola 0
Doubles (1-3)
1. Garner, Luke / Panyan, Sasha (NAVY) def. Davey, Oliver / Haggar, Nick (LOY) 6-0
2. Ayinala, Aniketh / Etterbeek, J.J. (NAVY) vs. Cavo, George / Lawliss, Nick (LOY) 5-1, unfinished
3. Legaspi, Herrick / Nguyen, Nathan (NAVY) def. Cardano, Matt / Pemueller, Cristian (LOY) 6-0
Singles (1-2-6)
1. Panyan, Sasha (NAVY) def. Cardano, Matt (LOY) 6-1, 6-0
2. Legaspi, Herrick (NAVY) def. Haggar, Nick (LOY) 6-0, 6-1
3. Garner, Luke (NAVY) vs. Davey, Oliver (LOY) 6-1, 2-1, unfinished
4. Nguyen, Steve (NAVY) vs. Lawliss, Nick (LOY) 6-3, 2-1, unfinished
5. Etterbeek, J.J. (NAVY) vs. Cavo, George (LOY) 6-1, 5-0, unfinished
6. Ayinala, Aniketh (NAVY) def. Boland, Ryan (LOY) 6-1, 6-0

Tournament Schedule / Results
First Round - April 25
No. 8 Holy Cross def. No. 9 Lafayette, 4-1
Quarterfinals - April 26
No. 1 Boston U. def. No. 8 Holy Cross, 4-0
No. 4 Army def. No. 5 Lehigh, 4-2
No. 3 Bucknell def. No. 6 Colgate, 4-0
No. 2 Navy def. No. 7 Loyola, 4-0
Semifinals - April 27
10 a.m. - No. 1 Boston U. vs. No. 4 Army 
2 p.m. - No. 3 Bucknell vs. No. 2 Navy
Final - April 28
11 a.m.