RICHMOND, Va. – Starting a three-match road trip Saturday morning, the Navy women's tennis team (2-1) suffered a 4-3 loss to VCU (2-1) in non-conference action at the Thalhimer Tennis Center.
Marking the first all-time meeting between the two squads, the Midshipmen surged ahead early after doubles play but the Rams flipped the script in singles action to hand Navy its first loss of the spring season.
Navy grabbed the opening point of the match, overcoming the Rams' No. 2 pairing of Sofia Jane Thorne and Lea Malazdra beating senior
Sylvia Eklund and sophomore
Anna Jordaan, 6-1. The No. 3 duo of sophomore
Olivia Fermo and freshman
Emma Gu earned a 6-3 victory against Amelie Jewelwicz and Sara Alba while seniors
Emily Tannenbaum and
Parvathi Shanker pulled out a 6-4 win over the top VCU pairing of Andrea Magallanes and Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando to clinch the doubles point.
In singles play, VCU bounced back when Thorne upended Eklund in the No. 3 spot, 6-1, 6-3, while Magallanes was able to defeat Shanker on the second court in a 6-2, 6-3 match. Malazdra then knocked off senior
Kate Lee by a 6-2, 6-4 final in the No. 5 slot to put VCU on the verge of clinching, but Tannenbaum's 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 victory over Andrade Sabando on the top court staved off defeat.
Jewelwicz's retirement against Jordaan on the sixth court evened the team score at 3-3, but freshman
Grace Li was unable to hold off Alba at the No. 5 position, dropping a 6-4, 6-4 match that secured VCU second win of the season.
Head Coach Keith Puryear Comments
"We had some good takeaways from today's match. VCU was ranked No. 4 in our region last year and nationally ranked for most of that year. The coaches all feel that we are making progress but we must have better execution in general, particularly in critical moments of the match and when we've created opportunities within the point. We'll take what we learned in today's match into tomorrow's contest with a very good Richmond team."
Match Notes
• VCU is now 1-0 in the all-time series with Navy.
• Tannenbaum has won 12 of her last 14 singles matches dating back to October.
• Fermo and Gu are a perfect 2-0 in doubles action since teaming up at the start of the spring.
Up Next
Navy travels crosstown to take on Richmond on Sunday, with opening serve set for 1:30 p.m. at the Raintree Swim and Racquet Club,
