SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Continuing its Patriot League road trip through Pennsylvania, the Navy women's tennis team (12-9, 2-0 PL) stayed undefeated in league play with a 6-1 victory over Bucknell (5-8, 0-2 PL) on Sunday afternoon at the Central PA Tennis Center in South Williamsport, Pa.
With Sunday's win, the Midshipmen moved to 2-0 in the Patriot League for the fourth-straight season and have now won five of their last six matches this spring.
Navy kicked off the day well with the freshman duo of
Ji Soo Oh and
Peyton Amspacher-Philemon pulling away for a 6-3 win against the No. 3 pairing of Caroline Marcus and Riley Jennings, while senior captain
Kate Lee and sophomore
Julia Lee clinched the doubles point for the Mids by knocking off Anna Lajos and Jaycie Mair, 6-3, on the second court. Bucknell avoided the doubles sweep with Whitney King and Abby Platt staving off senior
Emily Tannenbaum and sophomore
Olivia Fermo in a 6-4 battle at the top flight.
The Bison evened the score within the hour, as Jennings beat Fermo, 6-1, 6-1, in the No. 6 slot, but sophomore
Manci Pal pulled out a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Mair on the fifth court to start Navy's run.
The third position saw rookie
Molly Bellia outlast Lajos in both sets of a 7-5, 6-4 victory, while Tannenbaum clinched the Navy win by stifling King, 6-2, 6-1, in the top spot.
Continuing on, freshman
Emma Gu held on in the third set for a 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 victory against No. 4 Bucknell player Tori Allen, and fellow rookie
Grace Li recovered after losing the first set to Platt, collecting a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win at the No. 2 flight.
Coach Keith Puryear Comments
"This was a very solid weekend for us. Great to see the ladies make adjustments we needed to make in both Saturday's and Sunday's matches. Going from outdoor windy conditions to a quick indoor court was challenging, but we handled it well."
"Our two plebes, Peyton and Ji Soo, got us on the board first, as they played a great tactical match to get us the first doubles point. Kate and Julia at No. 2 played great, as they got a break late in the set at 4-3, then Kate served a good game to hold. Winning the first set in four of the singles matches helped keep the momentum going for us. Emily, Molly and Manci all battled to win in straight sets, while Grace fought off a first-set loss to win in three against an All-Patriot League performer at No. 2. Next week holds more challenges and we are looking forward to a good week of practice to prepare."
Match Notes
• Navy moves to 19-2 in the all-time series with Bucknell.
• Tannenbaum has now won her last five finished singles matches.
• Oh and Amspacher-Philemon have posted four-straight wins as a doubles team.
Up Next
Navy will continue its Patriot League road swing with a March 29 match at Colgate.
