ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Finishing off a three-game road swing before coming home, the Navy women's tennis team (2-2) is set for a pair of matches this weekend.
 
Starting back-to-back days of action with a 10 a.m. contest Saturday against Liberty (1-3) at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center in Lynchburg, Va., the Midshipmen then close the weekend back in Annapolis with an 11 a.m. showdown with George Washington (2-0) at the Tose Family Tennis Center.
 
Last Time Out
Navy was dealt a pair of close losses last weekend in Richmond, dropping a 4-3 contest to VCU in Saturday action before suffering another 4-3 loss to Richmond on Sunday … After capturing the doubles point on Saturday thanks to their No. 1 and No. 3 pairings, the Mids got singles wins from senior Emily Tannenbaum and sophomore Anna Jordaan but could not pick up another singles court as the Rams claimed victory … Dropping the doubles point despite the third-straight win by No. 3 pairing of sophomore Olivia Fermo and freshman Emma Gu, the Mids clawed back with singles victories by Gu and seniors Sylvia Eklund and Kate Lee but fell one point shy of overtaking the Spiders.
 
Puryear Achieves Navy Milestone
With the doubleheader sweep last Saturday, head coach Keith Puryear reached the 300-win mark for his Navy tenure … Compiling a 300-101 (.748) record through 17 seasons at the helm of the Mids, Puryear has also posted a 515-229 mark as a women's coach between his time at UMBC and Navy … His 513 victories ranked 20th among Division I women's coaches all-time and 10th among active women's coaches at the DI level entering the spring season.
 
Mids in the National Rankings
Navy was well-represented in the national singles and doubles rankings put out by the ITA at the end of the fall, appearing three times … Slotted at No. 87 in the singles rankings was senior Emily Tannenbaum, with the Midshipmen having two doubles teams ranked as well … Tannenbaum and fellow senior Parvathi Shanker rated 51st on the doubles list, while the pairing of Tannenbaum alongside sophomore Olivia Fermo was slotted at 104th in the same rating list.
 
Tannenbaum Rewriting Record Book
Now holding two more spots in the Navy record book after setting the program records for career singles, doubles and combined wins during the Milwaukee Tennis Classic, Tannenbaum holds a total of six school records … Last spring, the then-junior set the program record for single-season singles wins (33) and career No. 1 singles victories (37) while also resetting a pair of program single-season records she had previously set, tallying 18 victories at the No. 1 singles spot and registering 55 combined wins over the course of the campaign.
 
Scouting Liberty
The Flames started the spring by splitting a doubleheader with Elon (4-3 loss) and Longwood (4-0 win) before finishing the opening weekend with a 6-1 loss to Clemson, while last weekend saw Liberty handed another 6-1 loss by an ACC opponent, this time by Wake Forest … The fall saw Daniella O'Neill and Maria Turchetto team up to reach the doubles consolation finals of the ITA Conference Masters Championship … Liberty finished last season at 18-7 overall, going 5-0 in conference play and falling to FIU in the CUSA title match, but earned a bid in the UTR Sports NIT Championship where the Flames beat Appalachian State before having their season ended by Colorado … Daniella O'Neill and Maria Turchetto were both CUSA All-Freshman Team selections last spring.
 
Scouting George Washington
The Revolutionaries started the spring campaign last Saturday with a 7-0 win over George Mason and followed it with a 4-0 sweep of Mount St. Mary's … GW returns lone senior Alejandra Ramirez along with three sophomores … Rookies Vaida Matuseviciute and Karen Verduzco dominated during the 2024 fall season, finishing as the 74th-rated doubles pair in the nation, according to ITA … Last season featured a GW squad that went 6-15 but recovered for a 4-5 conference mark before falling to Richmond in the Atlantic 10 Tournament's opening round.
 
Series Histories
Navy is 0-4 against Liberty all-time, with all four matches coming in the last six seasons … Last year's meeting on March 1 saw the Mids battle but come up short, 4-2, against the No. 60-ranking Flames in Annapolis … Navy has split its 12 matches against GW, going 6-6 in the all-time series … Last season had the Mids extend their winning streak in the series to four matches with a 6-1 victory at home on Feb. 11.
 
Up Next
Navy stays home next weekend for three matches, welcoming Virginia Tech on Saturday (Feb. 8) before hosting Villanova and Delaware for a Sunday doubleheader (Feb. 9).