LYNCHBURG, Va. – Traveling to one of the top programs in the Atlantic region, a short-handed Navy women's tennis team battled but could not gain its footing against Liberty in a 6-1 loss Saturday afternoon at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center in Lynchburg, Va.  
 
Saturday's result moved the Midshipmen to 2-3 on the season while the Flames improved to an identical 2-3 record for the spring.
 
Liberty got going with Sadie Daavettila and Celina Joseph picking up the 6-1 win on the No. 3 court over the Navy rookie pairing of Ji Soo Oh and Peyton Amspacher-Philemon, while a 6-1 victory from the top Flames duo of Daniella O'Neill and Yu-Yun Chen against senior Emily Tannenbaum and sophomore Olivia Fermo handed Liberty the opening point of the match.
 
Navy avoided the doubles sweep when the No. 2 pairing of senior Parvathi Shanker and freshman Grace Li outlasted Anika Lemus and Yoanna Radulova in a 7-6 (7-2) tiebreaking win.
 
Joseph added another point when she quickly earned a 6-1, 6-1 victory over sophomore Anna Jordaan in the No. 5 matchup, while Chen upended senior Sylvia Eklund in a 6-0, 6-3 win on the second court to put the Flames on the cusp of victory. Radulova finished the job with a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Shanker at the No. 3 position and Lemus continued the trend via a 1-6, 6-4, 10-6 comeback win against Li on the fourth court.
 
Tannenbaum captured Navy's lone point of the day when she overcame a first-set setback to seal a 4-6, 6-2, 10-5 victory over O'Neill in the top slot. Closing out the match was Daavettila holding on for a pair of tiebreakers against sophomore Manci Pal in a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-0) win.
 
Coach Keith Puryear Comments
"Another hard-fought match today, congratulations to Liberty on the win. We dug a hole early with the loss of the doubles point. Em showed great grit and resolve to get us one point in singles. In the other singles matches, we put ourselves into winning positions in games and sets, but often lacked consistent execution to gather wins. We don't have much turnaround, as we need to prepare for a very good GW squad tomorrow."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 0-5 in the all-time series with Liberty.
• Saturday marked Fermo and Tannenbaum's first time playing together since Oct. 17, 2024.
• Saturday also marked the second time Shanker has partnered with Li and Oh was alongside Amspacher-Philemon.
 
Up Next
Navy heads home to face George Washington in an 11 a.m. match Sunday at the Tose Family Tennis Center.