ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Logan Antill made quite a splash when she joined the Naval Academy women’s tennis program three years ago.

The Butler resident and Sewickley Academy graduate would like to leave the program the same way.

Antill is a senior and captain of Navy’s women’s tennis team this season — and team aspirations are high.

“We want to make history,” Antill said. “This program has never won the Patriot League championship. We feel like we can get that done this year.”

Navy’s program has only been around for six years. It was a club sport for 13 years before that. But Navy made some history last season, defeating rival Army for the first time.

Antill had a straight-set singles victory as part of that triumph.

“That win over Army was unreal,” Antill said. “You could feel the vibes going through the entire team. I never felt closer to my teammates than I did that day.

“Now, we’re hungry to do more.”

Navy women’s tennis coach Keith Puryear said “it’s always a big deal to beat your biggest rival and that’s Army for us. They’re the measuring stick. They’ve won this league seven or eight times.”

Antill had a banner freshman season at Navy, winning 25 singles and 23 doubles matches during the fall and spring seasons combined.

“She came out like gangbusters that year,” Puryear recalled. “She made history at the time. We never had a freshman perform like that.”

Early in her sophomore year, Antill suffered a torn tendon in her foot and her college success was temporarily derailed. She only fashioned a 7-10 singles record, 2-10 in doubles, as she struggled with the injury.

The torn tendon forced her to wear a boot for two months.

“It took a while for me to find my game again,” Antill admitted.

After sitting out last fall’s schedule, Antill returned to post an 11-7 overall record last spring, including 8-5 in singles.

“I started out at No. 4 singles and wound up playing a few matches at No. 2,” Antill said. “This year, I’ll play wherever it best suits the team.

“I’ll play No. 6 singles, No. 1, wherever ... All I want to do is win.”

It’s that team attitude that enabled Antill to be elected team captain this year.

All of Navy’s athletic teams have only one captain. They are determined via vote of the team’s letter-winners, upperclassmen and head coach, then approved by the administration.

“It’s a huge honor,” Puryear said. “Logan’s teammates think of her as a leader. She performs and acts as a leader should.”

In breaking down her own game, Antill said her biggest strengths on the court are her backhand and confidence in herself. She wants to be more aggressive this season and wants her team to do the same.

“We’re good enough to win the Patriot League this season,” Antill declared. “We reached the finals last year and lost to Boston University.”

Puryear added another strength to Antill’s game: Quickness.

“She moves very well. She’s quick on the court,” the coach said. “Logan competes very well and that attitude can take you far in collegiate tennis.”

Once her education is complete, Antill must fulfill a five-year commitment to the Navy. That will include two tours on a ship along with a year of shore duty.

She has a problem with none of it.

“Joining the Naval Academy has been the best decision of my life so far,” she said.

Antill went undefeated as a member of the Sewickly Academy girls tennis team her freshman and sophomore seasons. After not playing high school tennis her junior year to concentrate on USTA events, she returned to prep play as a senior and won the PIAA doubles title with Caroline Ross.