ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A pair of home matches on Saturday, Jan. 20 will open up the spring schedule for the Navy women’s tennis team, as the Midshipmen play host to St. Bonaventure and Saint Francis at the Tose Family Tennis Center.
Navy squares off with the Bonnies at 9 a.m. before battling the Red Flash in a 3 p.m. matchup.
A Loaded Spring
The Mids are set for a 27-match spring season, including 19 home matches in Annapolis … Navy will play 15 of its first 18 contests on its home courts, highlighted by a five-match homestand from Feb. 25 to March 7 … After a four-match spring break trip to Orlando, Fla., the Mids play four-straight Patriot League matches at home, concluding with the Star Match against Army on March 30, while Navy’s lone road league match is slated for April 6 at Boston University … The Mids will also host the 2024 Patriot League Tournament on April 18-21.
Navy Openers
The Mids are 9-5 in spring-opening matches, including winning their first six spring openers in program history … Navy is 9-2 when opening the spring season at home … The Mids are 12-2 in home openers overall and are 1-0 when facing St. Bonaventure in their home opener.
Returning Firepower
Navy lost just one starter from its starting lineup last spring with the graduation of Casey Accola … The Mids’ top three singles players all return, with reigning Patriot League Player of the Year Emily Tannenbaum joined by Academic All-Patriot League pick Stella Ribaudo and All-Patriot League Second Teamer Sia Chaudry … Tannenbaum broke or matched three different single-season program records with her 2022-23 campaign, including tallying the most singles wins overall and the most singles wins at the No. 1 position … On the doubles side, the junior pairing of Kate Lee and Parvathi Shanker return after finishing as the No. 3 pairing with a 5-5 record, while Tannenbaum and Samantha Johns ended last season as the No. 1 duo with a 10-5 record.
Fall Recap
Highlighted by becoming the first Navy player to reach the ITA Regional’s Round-of-16, Tannenbaum paced the Mids in the fall season with 15 singles wins, while Chaudry and Ribaudo each tallied 10 wins to rank second on the team … The rookie pairing of Makaila Cheng and Olivia Fermo led the way in doubles play with a 9-1 record, while Sylvia Eklund paired up with newcomer Anna Jordaan to go 7-1 in the fall.
Scouting St. Bonaventure
The Bonnies ended last season with a 9-15 record in dual matches, going 2-5 in Atlantic 10 play, and have opened this season with a win over Niagara and a loss to Buffalo … Anastasia Gubanova and Isabella Venter paced the team last year with 15 singles wins, while Gubanova again leads the team this season with a 6-2 singles mark … Gubanova and Venter also teamed up in doubles play last season for a team-high 13 wins, while Gubanova has posted a 5-2 record alongside Abbie Tyler this season.
Scouting Saint Francis
The Red Flash used a 3-1 record in Northeast Conference action to post a 10-11 overall mark last season, and have split a pair of dual matches already this season, including a 7-0 sweep of NEC foe Binghamton … Kelly Dowuona returns after scoring 14 singles wins last year on the way to earning All-NEC Rookie Team honors, while freshman Diana Zuba leads SFU with a 9-2 singles record this season … Zuba and fellow rookie Reagan Mangan also pace the Red Flash with a 6-3 doubles mark.
Series Histories
Navy is 10-1 in the all-time series with St. Bonaventure, winning the last eight matches against the Bonnies and going 9-1 against the Bonnies in Annapolis … The Mids hold a 13-0 record over Saint Francis, with all 13 meetings being played on Navy’s home courts.
Up Next
Navy is set for three matches next weekend, heading to Richmond for a Feb. 27 contest before hosting Morgan State and Villanova on Feb. 28.