ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Highlighted by freshman Nicole Fu's 2-0 day on the singles courts, the Navy women's tennis team (5-3) pulled out the doubleheader split Saturday afternoon by bouncing back from a 5-2 loss to Liberty (5-1) with a 6-1 victory against Mount St. Mary's (0-4) at the Tose Family Tennis Center.
 
The twin-bill results improved the Midshipmen's home record to 5-1, with the nightcap win helping Navy snap a three-match skid.
 
Liberty Recap
While the Mids started strong with junior Anna Jordaan and sophomore Peyton Amspacher-Philemon notching the 6-2 win over Liberty's No. 2 pair of Daniella O'Neill Garcia and Milana Tsulygina, the Flames fought back with Yoanna Radulova and Maria Turchetto defeating Fu and junior Olivia Fermo on the top court. Coming down to the No. 3 match, Anika Lemus and Celina Joseph rallied from a 0-4 hole to beat junior Julia Lee and sophomore Grace Li in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5), to secure the doubles point for LU.
 
Joseph kept the points coming for Liberty when she knocked off freshman Anna Wiskowski in a 6-2, 6-3 decision in the No. 5 singles position, while Tsulygina added a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Li on the fourth court. Clinching the Flames' win, Radulova bested Gu on the No. 2 court by a 6-1, 6-2 score while O'Neill Garcia followed with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Fermo in the top slot.
 
Finishing out the matches, Navy saw Fu pull off the 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 win against Turchetto in the No. 3 slot and fellow rookie Jina Cha rallied herself for a 5-7, 6-2, 10-7 victory over Lemus on the sixth court.
 
Mount St. Mary's Recap
The Mids got another hot start in its second match of the day, as Wiskowski and sophomore Molly Bellia racked up a 6-3 win over the Mount's No. 2 duo of Emma Perkins and Anna Barlini. The Mids locked up the doubles point shortly after, as Amspacher-Philemon and classmate Ji Soo Oh beat out Margherita Trolese and Eirini Tsakiri, 6-3, in the third spot.
 
Moving to singles play, Gu posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Perkins in the No. 2 match and Amspacher-Philemon tallied a 6-1, 6-1 win over the No. 5 Mountaineers player in Isabella Pescatore right after, while Fu was Navy's clincher with a 6-2, 6-0 decision over Venus Tang on the top court.
 
The Mount got its lone point when Tsakiri outlasted Jordaan on the third court, 6-3, 2-6, 12-10, but the Mids returned to its successful nightcap when Oh defeated Barlini, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-6, in the sixth spot and Bellia closed out a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Trolese at the No. 4 position.
 
Head Coach Keith Puryear Comments
"We really had to extend the ladies today with these two teams coming to Annapolis. I commend Nicole and Peyton for their performances today, playing three matches and going 3-0 for the day, respectively. In the Liberty match, we knew it would be challenging as they're a perennial regionally-ranked team. In most matches, we got ourselves into positions where we could close out games or put ourselves into positions to put pressure or extend a lead, but we didn't seem to close things out. We've got to be better there. Against the Mount, we haven't played them in a few years. The coaching staff is fairly new and they had a good energy about them. It was important to start fast, and we were able to get ahead early then ride things out to finish and get the win."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 0-6 against Liberty all-time.
• The Mids moved to 6-0 all-time against Mount St. Mary's.
• Jordaan and Amspacher-Philemon have won four-straight doubles matches together.
• Fu improved to a team-best 5-2 dual singles record.
 
Up Next
Navy will hit the road for a Feb. 14 match at Virginia Tech before coming home Feb. 15 for a doubleheader with Villanova and George Mason.