ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Pushing a Top-25 opponent from start to finish and battling through a weather delay as well, the Navy women's tennis team saw its season come to an end with a 4-1 loss to No. 20-ranked UCF in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon at N.C. State's J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
After UCF locked up a tightly-contested doubles point outdoors, the Midshipmen (23-6) and Knights (21-4) were forced to halt the match due to rain, just as the opening sets of singles play were concluding. The first-round showdown moved indoors after a brief delay, where sophomore
Peyton Amspacher-Philemon was able to earn the Mids' first point of the day but the Knights top three singles players were able to clinch the victory and send UCF to the next round.
With Amspacher-Philemon's straight-set singles win, it marked the first time in Patriot League history that one of the league's women's tennis teams has scored a point in an NCAA Tournament match. Becoming the first Navy player in program history to win a singles match at NCAAs, Amspacher-Philemon and junior
Anna Jordaan's doubles win also marked the first NCAA Tournament doubles victory in program history.
UCF took an early 1-0 advantage by claiming a pair of the doubles matches, as the Knights grabbed the No. 1 flight when Marina Gatell and Jantje Tilbuerger defeated junior
Olivia Fermo and freshman
Nicole Fu in a 6-1 final.
The Mids responded at No. 2 doubles with Amspacher-Philemon and Jordaan earning a 6-2 victory over Vladislava Andreevskaya and Jade Psonka, but UCF then clinched the doubles point at the No. 3 spot when Olivia Bergler and Donatella Guarnieri pulled away late from junior
Julia Lee and sophomore
Grace Li, 6-3.
Getting singles play underway, the Knights extended their lead to 2-0 after Tilbuerger dispatched sophomore
Emma Gu, 6-4, 6-0, at the No. 1 flight.
Navy recorded its lone point of the match at No. 4 singles, where Amspacher-Philemon topped Andreevskaya,6-1, 7-6 (7-2), to cut the team deficit to 2-1.
UCF quickly halted the rally, pulling within one point of the clincher when Gatell defeated Li by a 6-2, 6-4 score on the third court. Bergler then provided the match-clinching victory for the Knights at the No. 2 spot, outlasting Fu in a 6-0, 7-6 (7-1) battle.
The final two singles matches were abandoned once the team outcome was decided, as rookie
Anna Wiskowski was trailing Psonka, 6-2, 1-2, at No. 5 while fellow freshman
Jina Cha led Guarnieri, 6-1, 0-1, at the sixth flight.
Head Coach Keith Puryear Comments
"Well, this one ends our season but we leave with absolutely no regrets. I could not be prouder of this group of young leaders. What our ladies achieved this year is phenomenal. Today, we did what we've done all year - battle, showing tenacity and grit! We fought tooth and nail, giving ourselves chances in every match. The way we've dealt with adversity all year has been tremendous, and today was no different."
"We started outdoors, got through doubles and most of the first set of singles before we had about a 30-minute break because of rain, then had to shift gears and finish indoors. In doubles, AJ and Peyton played inspired ball to win at No. 2 while the other two doubles pairs gave themselves opportunities, but we lost a few deuce games which changed the flow of their matches. Kudos to Peyton getting a win at No. 4 singles, while all the others were hard-fought battles. Jina had won the first set, but, because they had only four indoor courts, couldn't finish. Anna had started well in the second set, while Nicole and Grace lost very tight matches."
"We would like to thank our families and all that supported us all year. We look forward to having the ladies take some well-earned rest, finish their finals and then follow up with their summer training. We look forward to seeing what next year will bring this group!"
Associate Head Coach Alessandra Pedergnana Comments
"What an incredible season and amazing group. I could not be more proud of this team. From the moment our season started until now, they have shown heart, soul and grit. They have given everything they've had, even on the hard days. Our juniors in team captain
Manci Pal,
Olivia Fermo,
Anna Jordaan and
Julia Lee led this team from the front. To do what they did with no seniors says a lot. To know our players is to know a great group of ladies who are serving their country and are amazing humans. All thirteen deserve every ounce of credit for what they have achieved. They have represented Navy Women's Tennis, the U.S. Naval Academy and the Patriot League, and it showed today against No. 20 UCF. I look forward to what is to come with this program and these ladies."
Match Notes
• Navy is now 0-1 in the all-time series with UCF.
• Friday's match marked the Mids' first ranked opponent of the season.
• Amspacher-Philemon moved her singles winning streak to eight matches and has now won 21 of her last 22 singles matches.
• Amspacher-Philemon posted a perfect 7-0 combined record in the postseason, going 4-0 in four singles matches and 3-0 in four doubles matches.
• Amspacher-Philemon ends the year with an .885 singles winning percentage (23-3) that ranks third in program single-season history.
• Li's .815 singles winning percentage (22-5) ranks 10th in program single-season history.
