ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy women’s tennis team (18-3, 2-0 Patriot League) will return to action 11 a.m. Saturday as it welcomes rival Army (18-7, 2-0 Patriot League) to the Tose Family Tennis Center for the annual Star Match. The contest is part of the Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA, and will have free, live results available via NavySports.com.
STAR SERIES BREAKDOWN
Navy has turned in a dominant performance in the 2021-22 iteration of the annual Star Series, having a 19-5 overall record against Army this season, in addition to an outstanding 15-2 mark in Star contests. The Midshipmen have won the Star in men’s golf, sprint football, men’s soccer, women’s cross country, men’s cross country, women’s soccer, women’s swimming & diving, men’s swimming & diving, football, rifle, men’s indoor track & field, gymnastics, women’s indoor track & field, men’s basketball and wrestling.
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. ARMY
Over 16 all-time meetings between the two service academies, Army has played to an 11-5 advantage over the Midshipmen. However, the two programs have split each of the last four meetings, including Navy earning a dramatic, comeback victory over the Black Knights, 4-3, in the semifinal round of the 2021 Patriot League Tournament. Saturday’s match will mark the first time Navy has hosted Army for the Star since the 2018 season, as the last two Star Matches (2019, 2021) have been played at West Point.
LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, Navy opened Patriot League play with a pair of victories over Lehigh and Bucknell. The Midshipmen downed the Mountain Hawks, 7-0, on Saturday for their eighth shutout victory of the season, prior to earning a 6-1 decision over the Bison on Sunday.
NAVY PRIMER
Overall Record: 18-3
Home Record: 14-1
Away Record: 1-1
Neutral Record: 3-1
Patriot League Record: 2-0
Streak: W2
Head Coach: Keith Puryear I 14th Season at Navy, 33rd Overall (694-388)
SCOUTING THE MIDSHIPMEN
LEADING THE CHARGE: Newcomer Emily Tannenbaum (Fr., Commack, N.Y.) leads the way for the Midshipmen in singles competition with a record of 21-10, including an 11-4 mark on the dual season. Team captain Meghana Komarraju (Sr., Vienna, Va.) is second on the team in singles victories (20), along with having an outstanding 11-1 record in dual play. Rounding out the top performers for Navy in singles this season is Kacey Moore (Sr., Wellington, Fla.) who has totaled 19 wins.
TOP-TANDEMS: Komarraju and fellow senior Katreina Corpuz (Ewa Beach, Hawai’i) lead the way for the Midshipmen in doubles competition, totaling 16 wins on the season, including a 9-2 mark in dual matches. Moore and Jillian Taggart (Jr., Fair Oaks, Calif.) are second on the team with 11 wins in doubles, including an 8-3 record at the No. 1 position this spring.
PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAY: After earning a sweep of its first two Patriot League matches of the season last time out, Navy improved its all-time record in regular-season Patriot League matches to 45-11 (.804). The Midshipmen also have a 17-11 all-time mark in the Patriot League Tournament, along with reaching the championship match seven times.
WINNING WAYS: On the dual season, the Mids have an outstanding 95-30 (.760) record in singles matches, along with an equally impressive 51-7 (.879) mark in doubles competition. Individually, Tannenbaum has 40 total wins between doubles and singles play, the ninth-most for a single season in program history. Komarraju is closing in on joining the list with Tannenbaum, having 38 combined wins on the year.
CHASING 700: With the sweep of Lehigh and Bucknell, Navy head coach Keith Puryear now sits just six wins shy of 700 for his career. The Midshipmen have five regular-season matches remaining, in addition to the upcoming Patriot League Tournament where the Mids could play up to three more contests. Last time out, the 14th-year head coach earned the 250th victory of his career at Navy in the aforementioned 7-0 decision over Lehigh.
RECORD BOOK CHECK: Komarraju and Tannenbaum sit on the precipice of moving into a tie for the fifth-most singles victories for a season in program history (24). Tannenbaum is just three wins away from reaching the mark, while Komarraju needs four more victories to join the list. Amanda Keller owns the program record for most singles victories in a season, totaling 29 during the 2014-15 campaign.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: Since the start of dual competition, the Midshipmen have been dominant in matches played at the Tose Family Tennis Center, posting a 14-1 record. Over its 15 home matches, Navy has outscored opponents 89-16, dropping two or more points in just three of those contests.
ARMY PRIMER
Overall Record: 18-7
Home Record: 12-2
Away Record: 3-4
Neutral Record: 3-1
Patriot League Record: 2-0
Streak: W3
Head Coach: Paul Peck I 27th Season (506-235)
SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
LAST TIME OUT: Army was last in action on March 26 for a road match against Connecticut, in which it downed the Huskies, 7-0, to earn its third-straight win. Prior to their non-conference tilt against UConn, the Black Knights opened Patriot League play by taking a pair of 4-0 decisions over Lafayette and Holy Cross.
LEADING THE CHARGE: Paige Herremans leads the way in singles for Army this season, having a 10-3 record, with seven of the 10 victories coming at either the No. 5 or No. 6 position. Stephanie Dolehide has seen the most action at the No. 1 singles for the Black Knights, totaling a 4-3 record over seven matches. Cooper Jackson has played five contests at the No. 1 position, posting a 4-1 mark.
DOUBLES PLAY: Army has a 42-18 record on the dual season in doubles, led by the pairing of Herremans and Jackson who have a team-high 13 wins on the doubles circuit, including five victories at the No. 1 position. Dolehide and Caroline Vincent have teamed up to post a 6-3 record in doubles, with all nine of their matches being played at the No. 1 spot.
UP NEXT
Following the Star Match against Army on Saturday, Navy will return to action on April 9 as it hosts Howard for a non-conference match. The contest, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., will also serve as senior day for the Mids’, who will honor their three-member senior class of Corpuz, Komarraju and Moore in a pre-match ceremony.
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