March 18, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A challenging pair of matches lies ahead of the Navy tennis team this week as the Midshipmen are slated to play host to Penn and Richmond in Annapolis. Wednesday's match against the Quakers will begin at 2:30 p.m., with Saturday's match against the Spiders scheduled to start at 12 Noon.

Weather permitting, both matches will be contested outdoors on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy. Should poor weather force the matches indoors they will instead be played at the Tose Family Tennis Center.

Navy has won three of its last four matches and will take a 12-6 record on the season into the match against Penn. All but one of Navy's six losses this year have come to teams who appear in this week's national rankings -- North Carolina (#13), East Tennessee State (#46), Maryland (#53), North Carolina State (#54) and Clemson (#61).

One constant for the Mids this season has been the play of its doubles teams. Navy has won the lone available doubles point in 13 of its 18 matches this season and boasts a 12-1 record in matches when winning the doubles point. Overall this spring, Navy's doubles teams have compiled a 36-14 record, with the No. 1 team of Nate Nelms (Jr., St. Mary's, Ga.) and Johnny Waters (Jr., Papillion, Neb.) leading the way with an 11-3 record.

In singles, Owen Bullard (Fr., Concord, N.C.) leads Navy in victories with a record of 11-4. Bullard has posted a 7-3 record at No. 6 singles this year, but has also played at Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in the lineup.

Penn, the co-champion in the Ivy League in both 2006 and '07, has posted a 7-7 record this season. Five of the squad's losses have been to teams that currently hold a national ranking -- Michigan (#14), Louisville (#39), California (#40), Maryland (#53) and St. Mary's (#75). Among the victories the Quakers have posted this year are wins over Delaware, Georgetown and Villanova, programs Navy also has defeated this season.

Individually for Penn, Jason Pinsky competed in singles at the 2007 NCAA Championship and currently is ranked ninth in the Northeast Region in singles. He and teammate Joseph Lok have been ranked as high as 57th nationally in doubles this year.

Penn posted a 7-0 victory over Navy last year in Philadelphia. The Quakers lost a combined eight games in sweeping the three doubles matches from the Mids before winning five of the six singles matches in straight sets.

"Penn has won two Ivy League titles in the past two years," said Navy head coach John Officer. "Jason Pinsky is very tough at number one singles and their top doubles team is nationally ranked. We will have to play our best match of the year to beat Penn."

Richmond enters a week that will see the Spiders face Georgetown Thursday and George Washington Friday before Saturday's match against the Mids with a 3-10 record. The Spiders, who have won four of the last six Atlantic 10 Conference titles, return four of the six players who took to the courts for the team in a 5-2 loss to Navy last year in Richmond.

"Richmond has won several Atlantic Ten titles in the past ten years," said Officer. "We have always had competitive matches with them and this year should be no exception."