SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Appearing in its first conference final since 1999, the Boston University men's tennis team battled top-seeded Navy to five three-set singles matches but ultimately came up short, 4-0, on Sunday afternoon at the Drumblins Tennis Club.

With their fifth straight Patriot League title, the Midshipmen advance to the NCAA tournament with a record of 23-19 (6-0 PL), while the Terriers see their season ended at 14-12 (4-2 PL) after totaling 18 wins over the previous four years.

Featuring four 2022 All-Conference honorees, Navy won the doubles point by a combined score of 12-5 and then captured two of their three singles points in three sets to eliminate BU for the fifth time overall in PL tournament play.

The Midshipmen jumped out to a 1-0 lead by posting a 6-2 score at line 2 in doubles and then a 6-3 win in the No. 3 slot. 2022 All-PL member Sasha Panyan prevailed in the lone two-set contest with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on court No. 1.

Navy captured its third point by rallying from a set down to edge sophomore Cole Knutsen, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, at line 4. Junior Jonah Dickson dug deep to force a third set before losing the PL championship clinching point to the Mids, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, on court No. 6.

Both freshmen Corey Craig (#2) and Alejandro Licea (#3) rallied to force a third set before their matches were halted. Junior Ben Letzer was in the other remaining three-set match at line 5 when the final ended.

Led by ninth-year head coach Dejan Stankovic and assistant Jesse Frieder, the Terriers will return all 11 members on the roster for next season.

2023 PATRIOT LEAGUE FINAL
#1 Navy - 4, #3 Boston University - 0
 
Singles (Order of Finish: 1, 4, 6)
1) Sasha Panyan (NAVY) def. Dion Loutas (BU): 6-2, 6-3
2) Gavin Segraves (NAVY) led Corey Craig (BU): 6-2, 5-7, 3-1, DNF 
3) Alejandro Licea (BU) tied with Luke Garner (NAVY): 3-6, 6-2, 6-6, DNF
4) Herrick Legaspi (NAVY) def. Cole Knutsen (BU): 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
5) Ben Letzer (BU) led J.J. Etterbeek (NAVY): 6-3, 2-6, 3-2, DNF 
6) Aniketh Ayinala (NAVY) def. Jonah Dickson (BU): 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 3)
1) Panyan/L. Garner (NAVY) led Loutas/Licea (BU): 5-2, DNF
2) Nathan Nguyen/Finn Garner (NAVY) def. Knutson/Dickson (BU): 6-2
3) Segraves/Christian Pumpelly (NAVY) def. Adrian Pawlowski / Johann Sajonz (BU): 6-3