Women’s Tennis Wraps Regular Season with Three Home Matches

Navy Hosts Loyola, Howard and Colgate in Final Stretch Before Patriot League Tournament

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Posting 13 wins in its last 15 matches, the Navy women's tennis team (17-5, 3-1 PL) continues its regular-season-ending homestand with three contests this week at the Fluegel-Moore Tennis Stadium.

The Midshipmen will host Patriot League foe Loyola (2-10, 2-2 PL) on Wednesday before playing non-conference opponent Howard (4-9, 3-1 MEAC) on Saturday and ending the regular season Sunday against fellow league member Colgate (6-10, 2-4 PL). Wednesday's match against the Greyhounds is set for a 3:00 p.m. opening serve, while Saturday and Sunday's contests against the Bison and Raiders are both slated for an 11:00 a.m. start.

Gu Named Patriot League Player of the Week

After tallying Navy's opening point in this past weekend's Star-match victory, sophomore Emma Gu was named the Patriot League Women's Tennis Player of the Week on Tuesday … Gu was crucial in the Mids' 4-2 win over rival Army on Saturday, as she put Navy on the board with a dominant 6-3, 6-2 victory over Madison Smith at the first flight … Gu is now 22-11 in singles play this season, going 12-6 on the spring with a 7-4 record at the top flight and a 3-1 league mark … The award marks Gu's first weekly league honor of her career and the Mids' fifth weekly accolade of the season.

Bellia Named NAAA Athlete of the Week

Coming off her Star match-clinching single victory this past weekend, Navy sophomore Molly Bellia was named the Naval Academy Athletic Association (NAAA) Athlete of the Week on Monday … Bellia's comeback win against Army's Emily Ruckno in singles play was the clincher in the Mids' 4-2 win over the Black Knights … After dropping her first set in a tiebreaker at No. 4 singles, Bellia roared back to defeat Ruckno by a 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 7-5 score … The rally was highlighted by Bellia erasing a 4-1 deficit and fighting off two match points as well in the final set to provide the match-clinching point for the Mids … On the season, Bellia is 19-11 in singles play, going 11-5 this spring with a 3-1 Patriot League record.

Scouting the Mids

Leading the team with a 25-6 singles record is freshman Nicole Fu, while sophomore Emma Gu ranks second on the team with a 22-11 singles record and junior Olivia Fermo holds a 20-7 singles mark … sophomore Grace Li has a team-high 13-4 singles record this spring … Fermo and Fu have partnered to post a team-leading 15-12 doubles record … Junior Anna Jordaan and sophomore Peyton Amspacher-Philemon have notched a 10-4 doubles mark together, including a 7-2 record as the No. 2 pairing … Overall, Amspacher-Philemon has a team-best 17 doubles wins.

Streaks A'Plenty

Before being snapped March 28 at Boston U., Navy's 11-match winning streak from Feb. 15 to March 25 marked the fourth longest in program history and the best run since another 11-match win streak from Feb. 8 to March 8, 2020 … While also snapped in Boston, sophomore Peyton Amspacher-Philemon's 13-match singles winning streak tied her for the second-longest singles win streak in program history and becoming the fourth Navy player all-time to post a 13-match singles win streak … Fellow sophomore Grace Li has a career-best 11-match singles win streak, marking the 13th time in program history a Navy player has posted an 11-match singles winning streak.

News & Notes

Navy has tallied an 15-1 home record this spring, including winning its last 11 home matches … Navy has had 30 different doubles pairings this season … Nicole Fu is 11-0 at home this spring in singles play, while Peyton Amspacher-Philemon is also undefeated at home with a 10-0 singles mark … Amspacher-Philemon and Anna Jordaan are 8-2 in home doubles action this spring.

Last Time Out

Capped off by sophomore Molly Bellia's own comeback in singles, Navy rallied past rival Army for a 4-2 home victory in the Star Match on Saturday … It marked the Mids' fourth Star match victory in five years … Army took the early advantage by securing a hard-fought doubles point, as Isabella Brilliant and Madison Smith clinched the opening point with a tiebreaker victory over junior Olivia Fermo and freshman Nicole Fu at the top flight … Navy quickly flipped the script in singles play, partially sparked by a dramatic momentum shift at the No. 2 spot by Fu, as sophomores Emma Gu, Peyton Amspacher-Philemon and Grace Li put Navy in front, 3-1 … Army staved off defeat when Stacey Samonte secured a win over rookie Jina Cha at the No. 6 court, but Bellia roared back at No. 4 to defeat Emily Ruckno, 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 7-5, after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker and fighting off multiple match points in the third set … Navy is now 10-14 in the all-time series with Army, going 7-6 in Star matches.

Scouting Loyola

The Greyhounds enter the week at 2-2 in league play with wins over Bucknell and Lafayette … Loyola is coming off a 4-3 loss at home to Patriot League foe Lehigh last Friday … Emma Roeck paces the team with a 10-6 singles record this year, while No. 1 singles player Christine Richiez is 7-15 overall this season … Loyola posted a 13-6 record last season, including a 3-5 league mark.

Scouting Howard

The Bison are riding a three-match winning streak into the weekend, as wins over MEAC foes South Carolina State, Delaware State and Coppin State have propelled Howard to 5-9 overall and 4-1 in conference play … Freshman standout Franchesca Brown has claimed the MEAC's Rookie of the Week award twice this season, while fellow freshman Camille Hall has taken home the conference's weekly rookie honors once … Imani Jean won MEAC Player of the Week back on Feb. 3 … Brown leads the team with an 8-5 singles record, while Brown and Lauren Oliver have a team-best doubles record of 5-3.

Scouting Colgate

The Raiders arrive in Maryland for a pair of league matches with Loyola and Navy … Colgate has picked up league wins over Holy Cross and Lafayette, but are on a two-game slide after dropping matches to Lehigh and Bucknell … Rebecca Hess has a team-best 7-6 dual singles record, while Amelia Galin and Sophia Montero hold a team-leading 7-8 doubles mark this spring … Colgate finished last season with a 12-11 overall mark and a 3-5 league record.

Series Histories

Navy is 18-0 in the all-time series with Loyola … The Mids picked up a pair of 7-0 victories over the Greyhounds last year, taking the regular season meeting in Baltimore on April 9 before winning the league quarterfinal matchup on April 25 in Hamilton, N.Y. … Navy is 11-2 against Howard all-time, with the Mids riding a nine-match winning streak in the series … Navy posted a 7-0 victory over the Bison on April 18 last season … Navy has gone 10-0 in the all-time series against Colgate, with Sunday marking the Raiders' fifth-ever trip to Annapolis … Facing each other for the first time in five years last season, Navy traveled to upstate New York for a 6-1 win over Colgate on March 29.

Up Next

Navy will travel to Lewisburg, Pa., for the 2026 Patriot League Tournament on April 16-19.

Players Mentioned

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