ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Hitting the road for the first time this spring, the undefeated Navy women's tennis team (4-0) will travel to South Bend, Ind., this weekend for a pair of matches at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
 
The Midshipmen are set to face off with host Notre Dame (3-1) in an 11 a.m. match on Saturday before turning around to battle Ball State (0-0) on Sunday at 10 a.m.
 
Fu Named Patriot League Player of the Week
With a 5-0 individual record for the spring so far, Navy freshman Nicole Fu was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on Tuesday … The rookie has been instrumental in the Mids rattling off a 4-0 start to the spring dual season, with Fu going 3-0 in singles play while partnering with junior Olivia Fermo for a pair of doubles wins … The award marks Fu's first weekly honor of her career and the Mids' first weekly accolade of the season.
 
Mids in the National Rankings
Navy appeared in the national doubles rankings put out by the ITA at the end of the fall, as sophomores Peyton Amspacher-Philemon and Ji Soo Oh came in as the No. 82 doubles pairing in the ITA's final fall rankings … Amspacher-Philemon and Oh went 6-1 as a pairing this fall … Since the beginning of the 2024-25 season, the duo has posted a 12-3 career doubles record that includes a 6-2 dual-meet mark … This marks the second-straight season the Midshipmen have put a doubles team in the final fall rankings, as December 2024 saw Emily Tannenbaum and Parvathi Shanker rated 51st on the doubles list while the pairing of Tannenbaum alongside Olivia Fermo was slotted at 104th in the same rating list.
 
Scouting the Mids
Leading the team with a 16-2 singles record is freshman Nicole Fu, while junior Olivia Fermo ranks second on the Mids with a 15-3 singles mark … Sophomore Grace Li is a perfect 8-0 on the singles courts … Fermo and Fu have partnered to post a team-leading 12-4 doubles record … Li and freshman Anna Wiskowski have gone 4-0 as a doubles pairing so far … Overall, Fermo has a team-best 13 doubles wins.
 
Last Time Out
Navy posted a 2-0 weekend at home last Friday and Saturday, defeating Richmond by a 5-2 score before coming back the next day to handle Morgan State, 6-1 … Against the Spiders Friday, the Mids battled to grab the victory on all three doubles courts before garnering wins at each of the top four singles spots, with sophomore Grace Li's three-set victory at the No. 4 position proving to be the clincher … On Saturday, Navy then held on against an energized Bears squad to claim the doubles point, while sophomore Peyton Amspacher-Philemon started what turned into five-straight wins for Navy on the singles courts to lock up the Mids' victory.
 
Scouting Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish have started the spring at 3-1, as opening-weekend wins over Western Michigan and Duquesne were followed by a loss to Vanderbilt and a victory against Penn at the ITA Kickoff Weekend event … The fall was productive for a pair of Notre Dame players, as Bianca Molnar was the ITA Midwest Regional singles runner-up and partnered with Bojana Pozder to claim the region's doubles championship, qualifying Molnar for the singles draw at the NCAA Individual Championship and securing the Molnar/Pozder duo a berth in the doubles side of the NCAA Individual Championship as well … Last season saw Notre Dame go 21-6 overall and 9-3 in ACC action to reach the ACC quarterfinals and earn an NCAA at-large berth, finishing its season in the second round of the NCAA Columbus Regional … Returning senior Akari Matsuno was named to the All-ACC Singles Third Team last spring.
 
Scouting Ball State
The Cardinals will open their spring season on Saturday against Notre Dame before facing the Mids Sunday … The duo of Sarah Shahbaz and Isabel Tanjuatco posted a standout fall, winning the doubles championship at the 49th annual Milwaukee Tennis Classic and then claiming the MAC Indoor Doubles Championship … Shahbaz and Tanjuatco then won their first two doubles matches at the ITA Conference Masters Championship before falling in the quarterfinal round … The twosome finished the fall with a 13-1 record … Last year featured a 10-10 overall record for Ball State, going 4-6 in MAC play.
 
Series Histories
Saturday's match will be the first all-time meeting between Navy and Notre Dame in women's tennis … Navy is 0-9 all-time against current ACC members … The Sunday match with Ball State will be the first all-time meeting between the schools as well, along with being the Mids' first all-time contest against a current MAC team.
 
Up Next
Navy returns to Annapolis next Saturday, Feb. 7 to host Liberty and Mount St. Mary's in a doubleheader. Opening serve against the Flames is set for 11 a.m.