STAR POWER
Navy sets Star series record for most wins during an academic year as track and field sweeps Army
Emphatic victories by women’s tennis along with both men’s and women’s track and field on Satudray enabled Navy to set a new standard in the annual Star series with archrival Army.
Emily Tannenbaum and Casey Moore led the way as the Midshipmen beat the Black Knights, 4-1, at the Tose Family Tennis Center in Annapolis.
Several hours later in West Point, the Navy track and field teams completed a sweep of Army with Braden Presser setting a meet record on the men’s side and Katie Halbert breaking a school record on the women’s side.
Navy now leads the 2021-22 Star series 18-2. That breaks the previous series record of 17 victories set in 1997-98 and matched in 1998-99 and 2011-12, all by Navy. The Midshipmen can still post four more Star wins with men’s tennis, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse and baseball still to be decided.
“Nothing supersedes the importance of beating Army. It’s a benchmark for our program and I’m constantly pushing our coaches and motivating them every time we meet Army,” Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said. “That is always one of the universal goals at Navy and the focal point of everything we do.
“We stayed focused even though the pandemic was a distraction, and in many cases a challenge to morale. All our coaches showed incredible leadership in keeping their teams together. We sustained a championship mentality through one of the darkest athletic ages in history.”
Tannenbaum beat Stephanie Dolehide, 6-4, 6-5, at No. 1 singles and teamed with Casey Accola to notch a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles to spark Navy women’s tennis, which improved its overall record to 19-3.
Moore scored a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Caroline Vincent at No. 2 singles and paired with Samantha Johns for a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles. That gave the Midshipmen the doubles point and they proceeded to win four of the five singles matches that were completed.
Senior captain Meghana Komarraju won in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) at No. 3 singles, while Katreina Corpuz did the same (6-2, 6-3) at No. 4.
“Our seniors have been the heart and soul of this program since they stepped foot on campus,” said Navy coach Keith Puryear, referring to Komarraju, Moore and Corpuz.
“All three of them have started since they were plebes, and this was the first year we were able to host a Star match for them. To get a win in their first and only Star match to be held here at the academy, I’m so happy for them.”
Presser won the javelin with an Army-Navy meet record throw of 236 feet, 2 inches to lead the men’s track and field team, which won 11 of 19 events and earned the maximum six points in six events on the way to a 107-93 victory.
Brahmir Vick posted the fourth-fastest in program history in winning the 110-meter hurdles in 13.95 seconds. Elliott Schultz led the way as the Mids went 1-2-3 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while Charles Crispi was the winner as Navy took the top three places in the pole vault. Caden Dailey spearheaded a sweep of the high jump, while Joe Hurt did the same in the triple jump.
“From a competitive standpoint, our team was extremely tough and resilient,” said Jamie Cook, director of Navy track and field. “I am very proud of the way they fought and overcame. We had some awesome performances, and it was great to see the camaraderie within the group.”
Navy’s women won 13 of 19 events and earned the maximum amount of points in nine in beating Army, 117-86.
Halbert broke the school record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.48 seconds and also ran a leg of the 400-meter relay that also set a Navy record. Breanna Mealer, Molly Mangan and Sabrina Sutter rounded out that relay, which won with a time of 45.95 seconds.
Hannah Lowenstein won the high jump at a height of 5-8, the fourth-best performance in program history. Charlene Morke and Stephanie Jacobs both posted the fifth-best pole vault (12-9.5) in Navy history to lead a sweep of that event.
Molly Mangan won the 100-meter dash and placed second in the 200, while Sabrina Sutter won the 200 and placed second in the 100. Ellie Abraham won the 800-meter run and finished second in the 1,500.
Navy swept both the men’s and women’s Star meets in cross country, indoor track and field and now outdoor track and field.
“Nearly everything that we did today was historic. There were a lot of meet records, personal records, and top 10 performances,” Cook said. “We had some great leadership from our captains and some really good coaching from our staff.”