Navy Tennis Opens Fall With Strong Performances Across Multiple Tournaments
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Navy men’s and women’s tennis opened their fall schedules with busy weekends across multiple tournaments, giving the Midshipmen an early opportunity to test experienced returners, develop doubles combinations and evaluate younger players against strong competition from around the country.
The Navy men competed at three events — the Milwaukee Tennis Classic, Commander-in-Chief’s Tennis Challenge and Joe Hunt Invitational — while the women split their roster between the Milwaukee Tennis Classic and Commander-in-Chief’s Challenge. Because these were individual fall tournaments, team scores were not recorded, making development and individual results the primary focus of the weekend.
Several Midshipmen immediately stood out. On the men’s side, Steve Nguyen and James Thomson went undefeated as a doubles team at the Commander-in-Chief’s Challenge, while Nguyen also earned notable singles victories. Freshman Mary Cain Webster provided one of the biggest stories for the women, finishing a perfect 4-0 across singles and doubles competition at the same event, while Emma Gu produced a 3-1 combined record.
The weekend provided both programs with valuable competitive repetitions as Navy begins the long process of building toward the dual-match portion of the 2026-27 season.
Navy Men Spread Across Three Tournaments
The Navy men faced an unusually busy opening weekend with Midshipmen competing simultaneously in Annapolis, Milwaukee and Arlington.
George Cutone and Charlie Spencer represented Navy at the prestigious Milwaukee Tennis Classic. The event gave both players an opportunity to face competitors from programs Navy does not routinely encounter during Patriot League competition.
Spencer delivered an impressive start in the 32-player singles draw. He dominated Northern Illinois’ Saul Berdullas Calvino, 6-0, 6-1, in the opening round, dropping just one game in the entire match.
The victory moved Spencer into the round of 16, where he faced TCU’s Cooper Woestendick. Woestendick ended Spencer’s run through the main draw with a 6-2, 6-0 victory. Spencer then played Mississippi’s Kai Milburn in consolation competition and pushed the match to a deciding match tiebreak before falling 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8).
Cutone had a difficult opening draw against Omaha’s Maddox Lundell and fell 6-1, 6-1. His next match was considerably closer, as Cutone won the opening set against Western Michigan’s Jack Davison before Davison rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (13-11) victory.
Cutone then battled Marquette’s Clayton Anderson in his second consolation match. Anderson prevailed 7-5, 7-5, but the score showed Cutone competing much more closely after his opening-round defeat.
Cutone and Spencer Respond in Doubles
Cutone and Spencer also teamed together in the Milwaukee doubles competition.
Their main-draw run ended with a 6-3 loss to Texas Tech’s Imran Daniel Hazli and Ludovico Vaccari. Instead of allowing the loss to end their weekend on a negative note, the Navy pair responded with consecutive consolation victories.
Cutone and Spencer defeated Illinois-Chicago’s Nikola Puntaric and Mihailo Savic, 6-4. They followed with another 6-4 victory, this time over Western Michigan’s Davison and Ceh Hui Ho.
That gave the Navy tandem a 2-1 record after its opening-round loss and provided one of the stronger conclusions to the weekend for the Midshipmen in Milwaukee.
Nguyen and Thomson Go Unbeaten
Navy’s strongest men’s doubles performance came roughly 800 miles away at the Commander-in-Chief’s Tennis Challenge at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia.
The round-robin tournament brought together individual competitors from Navy, Army, Air Force and Georgetown. Nguyen and Thomson quickly emerged as Navy’s most consistent doubles combination of the weekend.
They started by defeating Air Force’s Alex Fritzinger and Jaden Woller-Li, 6-4. That was Navy’s only doubles victory against the Falcons, but Nguyen and Thomson were only getting started.
Against Army, the Midshipmen pair faced Jackson Armistead and Davis McDonald. Nguyen and Thomson came through with a 7-5 victory in a competitive match, while Navy’s other two doubles teams against Army each lost in tiebreakers.
The duo completed its perfect weekend against Georgetown.
Nguyen and Thomson defeated Sahil Morey and Rush Slivjanovski, 6-2, giving them a 3-0 doubles record against Air Force, Army and Georgetown. Their three victories came by scores of 6-4, 7-5 and 6-2.
For a fall tournament designed in large part to identify combinations that could help Navy later in the season, going undefeated against three different programs represents an encouraging start.
Navy Men Find Singles Success Against Army
Navy also produced several noteworthy singles results against Army.
Nguyen recovered from losing a first-set tiebreak against Jimin Jung to win 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 1-0 (11-9). Jake Young followed a similar path against Tommy Rainyn, rallying from a set down for a 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (10-8) victory.
Jason Kim produced another comeback against Jackson Hinderberger. Kim dropped an extremely close opening set in a tiebreak but responded to win 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 1-0 (10-8).
Somei Ogata gave Navy its fourth singles victory against Army with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Alan Ton.
The number of close matches may prove just as valuable as the victories themselves. Nguyen, Young and Kim each had to respond after losing the opening set and then execute in a match tiebreak.
Those are exactly the types of pressure situations fall tournaments can provide without the added consequence of a team dual-match result.
Nguyen Adds Another Comeback Against Georgetown
Nguyen continued his impressive weekend against Georgetown.
After dropping the opening set against James O’Sullivan, Nguyen rallied to take the second and then controlled the deciding match tiebreak for a 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-4) victory.
Combined with his Army victory, Nguyen demonstrated an ability to recover from difficult starts in singles competition. He also paired those results with the undefeated doubles run alongside Thomson.
Navy’s other singles matches against Georgetown did not go as well. Jacob Mann edged Young in a match tiebreak, 6-1, 2-6, 1-0 (11-9), while Kim, Ogata, Alberto Cutone and Thomson also suffered defeats.
Results from Navy’s Joe Hunt Invitational were not available when Navy published its Sunday evening recap. The annual event in Annapolis has carried Joe Hunt’s name since the 2015-16 academic year and honors the 1942 Naval Academy graduate who won the 1941 intercollegiate national singles championship and the 1943 U.S. national championship.
Navy Women Begin Defense of Championship Season
The Navy women entered their fall opener with significant expectations following a highly successful 2025-26 campaign.
Navy went 23-6 overall and 5-1 in Patriot League competition last season, defeated Army in the Star Match, won the Patriot League Championship and finished sixth in the final ITA Atlantic Region rankings. The Midshipmen returned all 13 players from that championship roster for 2026-27 and added freshmen TaKaii Adderley and Webster.
Senior Julia Lee took over as team captain, while several of Navy’s decorated players returned. Nicole Fu came back after winning Patriot League Rookie of the Year and earning first-team All-Patriot League honors. Gu also earned first-team honors last season, while Grace Li received second-team recognition.
That made the opening fall tournaments an opportunity to begin evaluating how an already accomplished roster might become even deeper.
Amspacher-Philemon Battles in Milwaukee
Juniors Peyton Amspacher-Philemon and Li represented Navy at the 50th Milwaukee Tennis Classic.
Amspacher-Philemon produced Navy’s biggest women’s highlight in Milwaukee with an impressive comeback against Colorado’s Lera Alexin. After losing the opening set 6-0, Amspacher-Philemon completely changed the match, winning the second set 6-4 before capturing the deciding tiebreak 10-6.
That victory came after Illinois’ Cara Mester defeated her in the round of 32.
Amspacher-Philemon later lost 6-1, 6-1 to Lipscomb’s Deborah Dominguez Collado. Li, meanwhile, lost her opening match against Purdue’s Nehir Dogan and later fell to Kansas State’s Sabrina Balderrama.
Li came extremely close to earning a victory against Milwaukee’s Natalia Castaneda Guerrero. After losing the first set 6-2, Li responded with a 6-2 second-set victory before Castaneda Guerrero escaped with a 10-8 win in the deciding tiebreak.
Amspacher-Philemon and Li also competed together in doubles. They faced strong competition from Purdue, Lipscomb and South Florida, including a narrow 7-5 loss to Dominguez Collado and Mariia Dolzhenko of Lipscomb.
Webster Makes Immediate Impact
While Navy’s experienced players battled in Milwaukee, one of the program’s newest Midshipmen made an immediate statement in Arlington.
Freshman Mary Cain Webster finished the Commander-in-Chief’s Challenge with a perfect 4-0 combined record.
Webster arrived at Navy as a highly regarded prospect. She was rated as a five-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network, reached as high as No. 43 nationally and No. 2 in South Carolina, and spent the 2025-26 academic year at Marion Military Institute.
She wasted little time showing that potential in collegiate competition.
Against Army, Webster teamed with Lee for a convincing 6-2 doubles victory over Stacey Samonte and Chelsie Son. She then defeated Alexandra Oshidar 6-0, 6-3 in singles.
Webster followed with another strong day against Georgetown.
She and Lee defeated Julia Chu and Ruhika Bhat 7-5 in doubles. Webster then completed her undefeated weekend by beating Molly Evans 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
Four matches. Four victories.
For a Navy team returning virtually its entire championship roster, Webster’s emergence could make an already deep lineup even more difficult to navigate.
Gu Produces Strong Opening Weekend
Gu also enjoyed an excellent start to her junior season.
She rallied past Army’s Emily Ruckno, 2-6, 6-3, 10-8, showing the same resilience several members of the Navy men’s team demonstrated during the weekend.
Gu then helped Navy finish strongly against Georgetown.
She teamed with Fu for a 6-2 doubles victory over Katie Garofolo-Ro and Emily Novikov before defeating Novikov 6-4, 6-0 in singles. Those results helped Gu finish the Commander-in-Chief’s Challenge with a 3-1 combined record.
Fu also earned a hard-fought singles victory against Georgetown, defeating Bhat 7-5, 4-6, 12-10.
That was another lengthy deciding tiebreak for a Navy player, and Fu showed the composure that helped her emerge as one of the Patriot League’s top freshmen last season.
Navy Women Finish With Georgetown Sweep in Doubles
Perhaps the best collective performance of the women’s weekend came Sunday against Georgetown.
Navy swept all three doubles matches.
Gu and Fu won 6-2. Lee and Webster earned their 7-5 victory. Manci Pal and Ji Soo Oh completed the sweep by defeating Natasha Kavarana and Jordan Thomas 6-3.
The Midshipmen then split six singles matches against the Hoyas.
Gu, Fu and Webster accounted for Navy’s three victories, giving the Midshipmen a strong conclusion after more mixed results against Air Force and Army earlier in the weekend.
Navy had opened the Commander-in-Chief’s Challenge against Air Force with singles victories from Anna Wiskowski and Anna Jordaan. Wiskowski outlasted Tia Christopulos 7-5, 5-7, 10-7, while Jordaan recovered from losing the opening set to defeat Tana Christopulos 1-6, 6-4, 12-10.
Those matches added to a recurring theme throughout Navy’s weekend: Midshipmen repeatedly found themselves playing extended three-set matches and deciding tiebreaks.
A Valuable Weekend for Both Programs
Fall tennis differs considerably from the dual-match season. There are no Patriot League standings at stake and no overall team result to protect. Instead, coaches can experiment with combinations, give players opportunities against unfamiliar opponents and learn how individuals respond in competitive situations.
Navy received plenty of information from its opening weekend.
For the men, Nguyen and Thomson immediately established themselves as a doubles pairing worth watching after going 3-0 against Air Force, Army and Georgetown. Cutone and Spencer recovered from their Milwaukee doubles loss to win consecutive consolation matches. Navy also produced four singles victories against Army, three of which required comebacks after losing the opening set.
For the women, Webster could hardly have scripted a better collegiate debut. The freshman went 4-0 while competing against Army and Georgetown, and she succeeded both alongside veteran captain Lee in doubles and on her own in singles.
Gu’s 3-1 combined performance offered another positive sign for a roster already loaded with returning championship experience.
Women Return Home, Men Get a Break
The Navy women will not have to wait long for their next competition.
The Midshipmen will host the Bill & Sandra Moore Invitational from Sept. 18-20 at the Fluegel-Moore Tennis Stadium and Tose Family Tennis Center in Annapolis. Competition is scheduled to begin at noon Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Navy men are idle this week after their three-tournament opening weekend. Their fall schedule began with three days of competition at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic, Joe Hunt Invitational and Commander-in-Chief’s Challenge.
For both programs, the opening weekend accomplished an important objective. Navy put a large portion of both rosters into meaningful competition and came away with several individual performances that could become significant as the season progresses.
MSB Take
Navy tennis has plenty to like after its first weekend, but the most intriguing development might be the combination of established players performing well and younger Midshipmen immediately contributing.
On the men’s side, Nguyen was everywhere. He and Thomson went 3-0 together in doubles, while Nguyen also battled through difficult singles matches and earned comeback victories against Army and Georgetown. The ability to remain composed in deciding tiebreaks should become valuable once Navy reaches dual-match competition.
The women may have found another significant piece in Webster. Navy did not enter this season needing a complete rebuild after returning all 13 players from a Patriot League championship roster. Adding a five-star freshman who immediately goes 4-0 makes that returning depth even more interesting.
The results also show why fall tournaments matter. Navy players competed against opponents from TCU, Texas Tech, Purdue, Colorado, Kansas State, Army, Air Force, Georgetown and several other programs over one weekend. Some matches ended comfortably, others became marathon tiebreaks and plenty ended in defeat.
All of those experiences can matter later.
For the women, the next opportunity comes almost immediately with the Bill & Sandra Moore Invitational in Annapolis. For the men, the opening weekend provides the coaching staff with plenty to evaluate before the next stage of the fall schedule.
Navy did not need team scores to make its first weekend meaningful. Between an undefeated men’s doubles pairing, multiple comeback victories, a 3-1 weekend from Gu and a perfect collegiate opening from Webster, the Midshipmen produced plenty of encouraging individual results to begin 2026-27.
