RICHMOND, Va. – In a back-and-forth battle that came down to the last singles match, the Navy women’s tennis team was defeated by Richmond, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at the Raintree Swim and Racquet Club.
 
The result shifted the Midshipmen to 2-1 on the season, while the Spiders improved to 1-2 overall.
 
Richmond quickly took the advantage in doubles play, as the Spiders’ No. 2 pairing of Elizabeth Novak and Claire Le Du scored a 6-1 win over the junior duo of Kate Lee and Parvathi Shanker, but Navy countered with a 6-3 victory by senior Samantha Johns and sophomore Sia Chaudry on the top court over Lara Bakhaya and Polina Shitikova. Coming down to the No. 3 matchup, Carly Cohen and Lainey O’Neil clinched the doubles point for Richmond by defeating the freshman pair of Makaila Cheng and Olivia Fermo, 7-5.
 
Moving to singles action, Chaudry evened the score for the Mids with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Novak on the second court, while Shitikova’s 6-2, 6-2 win against senior Stella Ribaudo in the No. 4 spot was matched by junior Emily Tannenbaum notching a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Cohen to bring the match even again at 2-2.
 
Outlasting Leonor Oliveira at the No. 3 position, Johns gave Navy the lead with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win, but Richmond rebounded to claim the match win when Bakhaya pulled out a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Shanker on the fifth court and O’Neil beat Lee by a 6-4, 6-2 score in the No. 6 spot.
 
Match Notes
• Tannenbaum’s singles victory was her fourth-straight and marks the 70th of her career, tying her with former teammate Kacey Moore for fourth in program history.
• Richmond now leads the all-time series with Navy by a 6-4 margin.
 
Up Next
Navy will have a short turnaround, as it hosts Villanova in a 2 p.m. match on Sunday at the Tose Family Tennis Center. Sunday morning’s previously-scheduled match against Morgan State has been postponed to a later date.