ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women's tennis team could not overcome dropping the doubles point Sunday afternoon, as the Midshipmen were handed a 4-3 loss by Richmond at the Raintree Swim and Racquet Club.
 
Closing out the second weekend of the spring season, Navy shifted to 2-2 overall while the Spiders improved to 1-1 on the campaign.
 
Richmond was able to gain an edge in doubles play quickly, as the No. 1 pairing of Elizabeth Novak and Sofia Maria Barbulescu posted a 6-2 win over senior Sylvia Eklund and sophomore Anna Jordaan. The Spiders secured the doubles point shortly after when Andrea Campodinico and Lara Bakhaya knocked off the top Navy duo in seniors Emily Tannenbaum and Parvathi Shanker, 6-2, despite the No. 3 spot ending with a 6-3 Mids victory by sophomore Olivia Fermo and freshman Emma Gu over Claire Le Du and Lainey O'Neil.
 
Bakhaya helped her side to start singles action, rallying for a 6-2, 7-5 win over Shanker in the No. 3 slot, while Barbulescu thwarted Tannenbaum on the top court with a 6-1, 6-3 decision. Eklund used a first-set tiebreaker to propel herself to a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 victory over Abby Lee in the No. 2 position and keep the Navy hopes alive, but Le Du upended freshman Grace Li at the No. 5 spot in a 6-1, 6-1 match to clinch the Spiders' first win of the spring.
 
Rounding out play, senior Kate Lee pulled out the 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) win on the fourth court to bounce back after Saturday, while Gu battled O'Neil for a 6-3, 7-5 victory in the No. 6 matchup.
 
Coach Keith Puryear Comments
"Another tight, tough battle today. While it would have been great to pull them both out, we have to take both as feedback for our growth and future success. I enjoyed the atmosphere surrounding the match. Richmond always brings out good support when we play them down here. I feel there are some things we definitely will address this week as we prepare for another weekend of challenging matches, but we feel we doing things that will continue to push us towards the goals we've set for this spring."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 4-7 in the all-time series with Richmond.
• The back-to-back losses for Navy are the team's first losing streak since the opening two matches of the 2023 spring season.
• Fermo and Gu are on a three-match winning streak as a pairing.
 
Up Next
Navy starts next weekend on the road, heading to Liberty for a 10 a.m. match on Feb. 1 before coming home to host George Washington on Feb. 2 at 11 a.m.