ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Riding an eight-match win streak, the Navy women's tennis team opens Patriot League play this weekend with a pair of contests at the Fluegel-Moore Tennis Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
 
The Midshipmen (13-4, 0-0 PL) will kick off its league slate on Saturday afternoon with a 12-noon meeting against Lehigh (4-10, 0-0 PL), before turning around to host Bucknell (7-7, 0-2 PL) at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.
 
Grace Li Named Patriot League Player of the Week
Helping the Mids pick up two spring-break victories and extend their winning streak to eight matches, Navy sophomore Grace Li was named the Patriot League Player of the Week on Tuesday … Li had a perfect 3-0 spring-break week for Navy, pulling out a pair of straight-set wins at the No. 3 singles spot while also partnering with Julia Lee for a No. 2 doubles victory … Li has now won six-straight singles matches, while she and Lee have a 3-0 record over their last five doubles matches together … The award marks Li's first weekly league honor of her career and the Mids' fourth weekly accolade of the season, joining freshman Nicole Fu (Jan. 27), sophomore Peyton Amspacher-Philemon (Feb. 10) and junior Olivia Fermo (Feb. 17).
 
League Play Primer
The Mids went 4-2 in Patriot League matches last season, highlighted by road wins at Lehigh, Bucknell, Colgate and Loyola … Navy has posted four-or-more conference wins each of the last four years and 12 of the last 13 completed seasons … Then-freshman Emma Gu tallied a 5-1 singles mark in league play last spring, including a 2-1 record in the No. 3 spot … Gu's classmate Molly Bellia also shined in PL action with a 4-2 singles record, primarily playing in the No. 4 flight with a 3-2 mark.
 
Scouting the Mids
Leading the team with a 21-6 singles record is freshman Nicole Fu, while junior Olivia Fermo ranks second on the Mids with a 20-7 singles mark and sophomore Emma Gu holds a 19-9 singles record … Gu both have a team-high 9-4 singles record this spring … Fermo and Fu have partnered to post a team-leading 15-9 doubles record … Junior Anna Jordaan and sophomore Peyton Amspacher-Philemon have notched a 8-1 doubles mark together, including a perfect 6-0 record as the No. 2 pairing … Overall, Fermo and Fu each have a team-best 16 doubles wins … Amspacher-Philemon has won her last 10 singles matches, while fellow sophomore Grace Li has six-match singles win streaks.
 
News & Notes
Navy has tallied an 11-1 home record this spring, including winning its last seven home matches … In addition to Peyton Amspacher-Philemon going 10-0 in her last 10 singles matches, Molly Bellia has tallied a 7-3 singles mark in her last 10 contests … Navy's eight-match winning streak is the Mids' longest since a nine-game win streak from March 13-April 12, 2023.
 
Last Time Out
Wrapping up a 2-0 spring break trip last week at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., Navy scored a 6-1 win over Fairfield on Monday and then outlasted a tough UNC Asheville team, 4-3, on Tuesday … Against Fairfield, the Mids bounced back after losing the doubles point by taking all six singles flights, including five in straight sets over the Stags … Sweeping doubles play against UNCA, the Mids then grabbed two quick singles wins before forcing tiebreaking sets on the other four courts, culminating with sophomore Molly Bellia holding on for a narrow victory over the Bulldogs' Sofia Segui Edmundson to preserve Navy's winning streak.
 
Scouting Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks enter Patriot League play with a 4-10 record, going 0-3 on the road so far this spring … Lehigh broke a four-match losing streak on March 12, taking down Fairfield by a 5-2 score in Orlando by rallying with five singles wins after dropping the doubles point … Maggie Forkner had a strong fall for the Mountain Hawks, winning the ITA Patriot League Masters Singles Tournament and punching her ticket to the ITA Conference Masters Championship, where she went 1-1 … Forkner returns after being selected to the All-Patriot League First Team last spring.
 
Scouting Bucknell
The Bison come to Maryland for two matches this weekend, facing Loyola on Saturday before battling the Mids on Sunday … Bucknell is coming off a 1-1 spring-break trip to Hawaii, falling by a 7-0 score to No. 48-ranked Hawaii but responding with a 7-0 win over Chaminade … The Bisons already having two league matches under their belt, losing to Boston U. on Feb. 20 before being beat by Army on Feb. 27 … Mirra Manolov paces the team with a 12-7 singles mark, while Riley Jennings and Abby Platt hold a team-best 10 doubles wins together … Platt was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team at the conclusion of last spring.
 
Series Histories
Navy holds a 17-0 record over Lehigh in the all-time series, including eight wins in Annapolis … Last year's meeting between the teams on March 22 saw the Mids score a 6-1 victory in Bethlehem, as Navy won its fourth-straight Patriot League opener … Navy has posted a 19-2 all-time record against Bucknell, including a 10-0 mark at home against the Bison and a 17-match overall winning streak … The 2025 match between the Mids and Bison resulted in a 6-1 Navy win on March 23, with the Mids winning the top five singles courts.
 
Up Next
Navy hosts Delaware in a non-conference match on Wednesday afternoon.