ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy men's tennis team will play a pair of Patriot League opponents this weekend as part of a four-match slate. The weekend begins when the Mids (16-13, 4-0 Patriot League) play at Bucknell (13-5, 3-0 Patriot League) Friday at 3 p.m. Navy then will play host to Norfolk State (11-9, 3-1 MEAC) Saturday at noon and Longwood (6-7, 1-1 Big South) Sunday at 11 a.m. The Mids close the weekend with a match at Holy Cross (6-7, 3-2 Patriot League) Sunday at noon at the Westboro Tennis & Swim Club in Westboro, Mass.
A live video stream of the Navy-Bucknell match will be available only if the match is played outdoors. Live results from the match will be offered regardless of the site. There also will be live results available for Navy's home matches against Norfolk State and Longwood, both of which are currently scheduled to be played outdoors on the USNA Tennis Courts. The Tose Family Tennis Center will be utilized if poor weather forces play indoors.
Navy Review
Navy recorded a pair of Patriot league victories last weekend with a 5-2 win over Lehigh and a 6-1 victory over Lafayette.
Luke Garner and
Jake Young each won a pair of matches against the Mountain Hawks. The pair first combined for a 7-5 win at No. 1 doubles, then each won in straight sets in singles. Garner posted a 7-5, 6-3 win at the No. 3 flight and Young recorded a 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 4.
Aniketh Ayinala also won his matches at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles against Lehigh.
George Cutone,
Charlie Spencer,
Jason Kim and
Tommy Kim all won two matches against Lafayette. Cutone and Spencer won a 6-1 match at No. 2 doubles and Kim and Kim paired for a 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles. Cutone,
Jason Kim,
Tommy Kim and Spencer then won matches at, in order, Nos. 1-4 singles.
Bucknell Preview
Navy and Bucknell have each defeated Villanova, Saint Joseph's and Colgate this season and lost to Drexel. The Mids recorded a victory over Richmond while the Bison lost a 4-3 decision to the Spiders. Bucknell's two additional Patriot League victories have come against Army and Loyola, teams Navy will face next week.
Individually, Bucknell's Amar Tahirovic is ranked 124th in singles in this week's national ranking.
Norfolk State Preview
The Spartans have suffered five defeats this season by the score of 4-3. This includes losses to Temple and Hampton. The Mids also fell to the Owls by that same score and defeated the Pirates in a 4-3 contest. Additionally, both teams have defeated Coppin State and Morgan State and Norfolk State posted a 7-0 victory over Loyola.
Norfolk State ended last season with an overall record of 11-11 and a MEAC mark of 4-1. One of those losses was a 4-3 defeat to Navy. The second-seeded Spartans lost to third-seeded North Carolina Central in the semifinal round of the MEAC Tournament.
Holy Cross Preview
The Crusaders will play host to Bentley Friday before facing the Mids Sunday. Holy Cross has posted league wins over Loyola, Lafayette and Boston and suffered its defeats to Colgate and Army.
Holy Cross posted a 1-49 record in league regular season matches from the 2013-14 through 2022-23 seasons. The Crusaders won two league matches last year, one of which was a 4-3 victory over Navy, before totaling three league wins this year.
Longwood Preview
The Lancers, who will play Friday at top-ranked Wake Forest, have dropped matches this season to Virginia Tech, James Madison and William & Mary and defeated Hampton, Norfolk State and George Mason.
Longwood finished last season with an 8-8 overall record and a 1-3 record against Big South foes. The Lancers lost in the semifinal round of last year's conference tournament.
Sunday marks the inaugural match between the teams.
