ARLINGTON, Va. – Facing competition from its rival service academies and a regional foe, the Navy women’s tennis team closed out its fall schedule this weekend with the three-day Academy Challenge at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va.
 
Combining for 23 singles matches and 14 doubles contests, the Midshipmen picked up 10 singles victories and eight wins on the doubles courts against players from Air Force, Army and Georgetown. Senior captain Stella Ribaudo, junior Emily Tannenbaum and freshman Olivia Fermo all posted 2-0 singles records on the weekend, while Fermo partnered with fellow rookie Makaila Cheng to tally a 3-0 doubles mark across the three-day tournament.
 
Opening the event against competitors from Air Force on Friday, the Mids swept the doubles matches, as Fermo and Cheng took down Joselyn Limbago and Carissa Holguin, 8-2, while sophomore Sia Chaudry and senior Samantha Johns pulled off the 8-7 (2) win over Isabella Flodin and Andrea Le, with juniors Kate Lee and Parvathi Shanker also grabbing an 8-7 (4) victory against Alexis Odom and Nadia Kojonroj.
 
In singles play against the Falcons’ players, Tannenbaum defeated Odom, Ribaudo beat Kojonroj and Fermo won against Holguin. Junior Sylvia Eklund and freshman Anna Jordaan also picked up wins on Friday, beating Giovanna Sanchirico and Limbago, respectively, to give Navy the victory in five of the eight singles matches.
 
Facing the Black Knights on Saturday morning, the Mids managed a pair of wins across six matches on the doubles courts, as Cheng and Fermo knocked off Carolyn Ahn and Vennmukiil Mathivanen, 8-5, while Eklund and Jordaan paired up to beat Emma Sy and Ylan Duong by a 8-7 (5) score.
 
Turning to singles action that Tannenbaum and Ribaudo both sat out of, Navy’s lone win came when Fermo edged out Emily Ruckno, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 10-8, while both Chaudry and Cheng both pushed their matches to three sets before falling to Cooper Jackson and Mathivanen, respectively.
 
Wrapping up the tournament Sunday against the Hoyas, Navy captured three on the five doubles matches, as Ribaudo and Tannenbaum scored an 8-6 win over the Chloe Bendetti/Katie Garofolo-Ro pairing and Chaudry and Johns got an 8-1 win against Olivia Ashton Tatiana Zelenko, while Cheng and Fermo kept their perfect weekend going with an 8-6 victory over Paige Gilbert and Ashley Kennedy.
 
Tannenbaum and Ribaudo both returned to singles competition against Georgetown to help the Mids pick up four wins across seven matches, battling out wins against Bendetti and Zelenko, respectively. Cheng also won her second singles match of the weekend against Morgan Coburn, while fellow freshman Manci Pal upended Kennedy in three sets.
 
“Thank you to the Army Navy Country Club and our host Bill Slenker for a great weekend of competition,” said head coach Keith Puryear. “It was great to participate in a venue such as the Army Navy Country Club alongside our fellow service academies and nearby Georgetown.”
 
Navy will start its spring season on Jan. 20 against Saint Francis and St. Bonaventure at the Tose Family Tennis Center.