ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Capping off a day that saw head coach Keith Puryear reach another career milestone, the Navy women's tennis team opened its spring season with a pair of Saturday victories at the Tose Family Tennis Center. Starting the doubleheader with a 6-1 win over St. Bonaventure before sweeping Saint Francis, 7-0, the Midshipmen propelled Puryear to his 299th and 300th victories with the program.
 
Now standing at 2-0 on the season, the Midshipmen have won 13 of their last 15 matches dating back to last season, while both the Bonnies and the Red Flash shifted to 1-2 on the campaign.
 
St. Bonaventure Recap
In the morning match, Navy got the early edge in doubles play when senior Sylvia Eklund and sophomore Anna Jordaan earned a 6-4 win in the top slot against Cirkeline Lundberg and Tamara Bachmann, while senior Kate Lee and sophomore Julia Lee knocked off Sienna Smith and Isabella Venter, 7-5, on the No. 2 court to clinch the opening point. A 7-6 (7-4) victory from sophomore Olivia Fermo and freshman Emma Gu over Kelly Barnes and Kashish Bote finished off the doubles sweep for the Mids.
 
Fermo then opened singles play with a 6-2, 6-1 win against Bote on the fifth court and Jordaan defeated Smith, 6-4, 6-0, in the No. 4 spot soon after to put the Mids on the cusp of clinching the match. Julia Lee then sealed Navy's first win of the season by edging out Barnes in a 6-2, 7-5 battle on the sixth court.
 
Rounding out the morning tilt, Gu scored a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 win against Bachmann in the No. 3 matchup and Eklund beat Lundberg on the top court, 7-5, 6-3, but Kate Lee fell in a three-setter in the No. 2 slot against Venter, 7-5, 3-6, 10-2.
 
Saint Francis Recap
The Mids grabbed the quick doubles sweep as freshmen Molly Bellia and Grace Li got the 6-3 victory over the Red Flash's No. 2 pairing in Kallyhan Kadzinski and Kelly Dowuona, while seniors Emily Tannenbaum and Parvathi Shanker picked up a 6-3 win on the top court over Reagen Mangan and Sara Jankovic, and the rookie duo of Ji Soo Oh and Peyton Amspacher-Philemon defeated Sophia Cunningham and Morgan Tuffs on the third court, 6-4.
 
With Tannenbaum earning a singles point at the No. 1 slot when Mangan retired due to injury, the Mids then clinched their second win of the day when Amspacher-Philemon cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Cunningham in the No. 6 match and Li knocked off Jankovic, 6-1, 6-4 on the third court.
 
Closing out the afternoon, sophomore Manci Pal beat the No. 4 SFU player in Kadzinski, 6-2, 6-3, while Bellia edged out Tuffs, 6-3, 6-3, in the fifth matchup and Shanker upended Dowuona, 6-3, 6-4, in the No. 2 spot.
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 12-1 in the all-time series with St. Bonaventure.
• The Mids also moved to 15-0 all-time against Saint Francis.
• Navy is 11-2 when opening the spring season at home
• The Mids are 14-2 in home openers overall and are 3-0 when facing St. Bonaventure in their home opener.
• Eklund and Jordaan have now won four-straight matches as a pairing.
 
Up Next
Navy is set for a trip next weekend to the state of Virginia, playing at VCU on Jan. 25 (11 a.m.) before heading crosstown to play at Richmond on Jan. 26 (1:30 p.m.).