ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Returning all 13 players from its 2026 Patriot League Championship roster, the Navy women's tennis team opens the 2026-27 season this weekend with the 50th Milwaukee Tennis Classic in Milwaukee, Wis., and the fourth edition of the Commander-in-Chief's Challenge in Arlington, Va.
With juniors
Grace Li and
Peyton Amspacher-Philemon heading to represent the Midshipmen in Milwaukee at the Nicolet Tennis Center and Western Racquet Club, the remainder of Navy's roster will compete against Army, Air Force and Georgetown players at the Army Navy Country Club in nearby Virginia.
Commander-in-Chief's Challenge Tournament
The Army Navy Country Club will play host to the Commander-in-Chief's Challenge, with Navy facing individual competition from fellow service academies Army and Air Force as well as regional foe Georgetown … Known as the Academy Challenge in its first season of 2023, the tournament … Navy will compete in singles play against the Falcons at 2:30 p.m. Friday before facing Air Force in doubles action at 5:00 p.m. … The Mids then take on the Black Knights at 8:00 a.m. Saturday before a 10:30 a.m. Army-Navy doubles showdown … Navy then squares off with the Hoyas at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in singles competition followed by doubles matches against GU at 5:00 p.m. to close out the weekend.
Milwaukee Tennis Classic Information
Li and Amspacher-Philemon will be among the 32 women's singles players and 16 doubles pairings at the four-day Milwaukee Tennis Classic … Other schools sending entrants to the women's tournament include Ball State, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas State, Lipscomb, Marquette, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Purdue, South Florida and Wisconsin … The Milwaukee Tennis Classic is celebrating its 50th edition this fall, making it the longest running college tennis tournament in the country outside of the NCAA Tournament … The first and second days of women's action will be held at the Nicolet Tennis Center, while Sunday's finals will be held at the Western Racquet Club … Tournament draw will be announced late Thursday … Friday's competition begins at 10:00 a.m. ET with the doubles round-of-16, followed by the first two rounds of singles action, while Saturday's play starts at 9:00 a.m. ET with doubles quarterfinals and semifinals before switching to singles quarters and semis at 11:30 a.m. ET … Sunday is slated for the doubles finals to start at 10:00 a.m. ET and for the singles finals to begin at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Returners Recap
Taking over the captaincy will be senior
Julia Lee, who will lead a group of 13 total returners from a 2025-26 team that went 23-6 overall and 5-1 in league play, claimed the Star against Army, won the Patriot League Championship and finished as the No. 6 team in the year-end ITA Atlantic regional rankings … In addition to championship MVP
Nicole Fu winning Patriot League Rookie of the Year and Navy taking home Patriot League Coaching Staff of the Year, Fu and
Emma Gu were picked to the All-Patriot League First Team while Li received a nod to the All-Patriot League Second Team.
Counting the Newcomers
Navy head coach
Keith Puryear announced the addition of two freshmen for the 2026-27 campaign, as the staff welcomed newcomers
TaKaii Adderley and
Mary Cain Webster … Ranked as a four-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network, Adderley played tennis at the Eric Dobsha Academy and attended high school online at Florida Virtual School (FLVS) Flex … Competing for two years of varsity tennis at Oak Hall School, Adderley was named the Gainesville Sun Girls High School Tennis Player of the Year in 2022 and 2023 … Ranked as a five-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network, Webster reached a high of No. 43 in the nation on tennis recruiting and No. 2 in the state of South Carolina … Webster spent the 2025-26 academic year at the Marion Military Institute after graduating from Anderson Charter School.
Up Next
Navy will host the Bill & Sandra Moore Invitational on Sept. 18-20 at the Fluegel-Moore Tennis Stadium and the Tose Family Tennis Center.
