ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A balanced lineup in both matches helped the Navy women's tennis team (2-0) to a pair of victories in its spring-opening doubleheader Saturday at the Tose Family Tennis Center, as the Midshipmen kicked off the spring with a 7-0 shutout of St. Bonaventure (0-3) before pulling out a 5-2 win over Saint Francis (1-2).
 
With seven different Mids going a combined 2-0 on the afternoon between singles and doubles play, Navy notched its sixth 2-0 start in the last seven seasons.
 
St. Bonaventure Recap
While the Bonnies opened the match with their No. 1 tandem of Sara Montano Parada and Tamara Bachmann taking down sophomore Emma Gu and Anna Wiskowski, 6-1, the Mids surged back in the other two doubles contests to secure the first point. Continuing their dominant run from the fall, junior Olivia Fermo and rookie Nicole Fu raced to a 6-0 win on the second court over Sienna Smith and Kashish Bote while the sophomore duo of Grace Li and Ji Soo Oh pulled away from Kelly Barnes and Gabriella Blumberg, 6-3, in the No. 3 spot.
 
Oh quickly added to the Navy lead with a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the No. 6 singles slot over Natalia Salinas and was followed shortly after by junior Anna Jordaan's 6-2, 6-1 win against Blumberg on the fifth court. Navy clinched the team win with Li beating Bachmann, 6-1, 6-3, in the No. 3 match, with Gu knocking off Montano Parada in the top spot (6-2, 6-2) and freshman Jina Cha handling Bote in a 6-2, 6-0 victory on the fourth court. Rounding out the singles sweep at No. 2, Fermo got on a late roll in both sets of her 6-4, 6-2 win over Smith.
 
Saint Francis Recap
Navy jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a pair of 6-4 doubles wins, as Cha and sophomore Molly Bellia defeated the No. 3 Saint Francis pairing of Emma Marais and Sophia Cunningham while Jordaan and sophomore Peyton Amspacher-Philemon pulled away late against the No. 2 duo of Gabriela Almanza and Kelly Dowuona. A furious comeback on the top court to try and complete the doubles sweep fell just short, as juniors Manci Pal and Julia Lee battled back but could not edge out Reagen Mangan and Helena Lynn in a 7-6 (9-7) loss.
 
Pal bounced back immediately on the No. 3 court, as the Navy captain closed out a 6-2, 6-1 win over Almanza, but Bellia's 6-2, 6-4 loss to top Red Flash player Dasha Chichkina gave SFU their first point of the day. After dropping the first set to Dowuona, Fu settled in for the 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory at the No. 2 position to put Navy on the edge of clinching, while Lynn's 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 decision over Wiskowski moved the score to 3-2 Mids. Navy finally clinched its 2-0 start when Lee outlasted Morgan Tuffs on the sixth court (6-3, 4-6, 6-3) and Amspacher-Philemon overcame a rough beginning for the 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Mangan in the No. 5 spot.
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 13-1 all-time over the Bonnies, winning the last 11 meetings.
• The Mids moved to 16-0 in the all-time series with Saint Francis.
• Navy has started the last three seasons with identical 2-0 records, defeating the Bonnies and Red Flash in spring-opening doubleheaders in each of those seasons.
• Li has now claimed victory in each of her seven singles matches this season, while four other Mids have three-game singles winning streaks following Saturday.
• Fermo and Fu are both 9-1 in their last 10 singles matches.
 
Head Coach Keith Puryear Comments
"A good start to the spring season today. I thought - regardless of scores - both teams pressed us in areas and I liked the response from the ladies. We'll be focusing on a few key areas for our continued improvement this season."
 
Up Next
Navy will host Richmond and Morgan State in a Jan. 25 doubleheader.