Courtesy of Sonny Dearth, Daily Press

FREDERICKSBURG -- Eric Shulman was looking to atone for a surprisingly sub-par singles performance.

Matt King, playing college tennis for his third school, was hoping for his biggest moment as a Captain.

Together, they got it -- and how.

The CNU seniors emerged from a talented field of 32 tandems to win the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southeast Regional on Mary Washington's courts. The title earned them a spot in the Small College Nationals from Oct. 13-16 in Mobile, Ala.

It took them five victories, an impressive feat that buried the memories of their combined 1-4 singles record in the high-caliber event.

Shulman, who won the singles title last season in Fredericksburg, lost close matches in the first round of the main
draw and the second round of the back draw despite being the top seed. King fell in a pair of matches that could've gone either way.

But in doubles, they found their form and chemistry. They sandwiched a pair of triumphs Saturday -- against teams from Mary Washington and Carnegie Mellon -- around their main-draw singles losses. Sunday, they came back with two impressive indoor victories.

Fans could see the intensity and enthusiasm rise by King and Shulman, one of four teams seeded 5-8, once the rain set in and the action moved to the indoor facility.

In a quarterfinal, they manhandled a pair of Johns Hopkins freshmen who ended up in the singles semis, beating Tanner Brown and Ben Hwang 8-2. Their semifinal would be even more thrilling.

With Shulman serving perhaps as fast as 120 mph, they earned a 7-4 lead -- with two service breaks -- on Mary Washington freshmen Evan Charles and Donato Rizzolo. But with the Eagles one game from defeat, Charles -- a Deep Run
High teammate of Shulman in 2008 -- and Rizzolo responded by winning the next four games.

Then, for the last time, the momentum changed. King easily held serve to force a decisive tiebreaker, and the Captains went ahead 6-1 before winning 7-3 to book a spot in the final.

The championship match's circumstances -- and the toughness of Carnegie Mellon standout Duke Miller -- benefited CNU, and the Captains took full advantage by winning 6-3, 6-2.

Of the seven men still around to compete Monday, Miller was the only one remaining in singles and doubles. He saved two match points in his quarterfinal singles victory Sunday, during which he appeared to overcome fatigue and leg cramps. In a doubles semi later that day, he and partner Will Duncan won a decisive tiebreaker against a Johns Hopkins duo shortly after King and Shulman took theirs against Mary Washington.

Originally, the singles semis were scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, to be followed by the doubles final and the singles championship.

But Miller defeated Hwang 6-2, 7-5, so the decision was to play the singles title match first. Johns Hopkins' Andy Hersh outlasted Miller 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

So, by the time Shulman and King were to begin their match, Miller had played 15 sets of singles and four pro-sets of doubles in about 55 hours. He was by far the most fatigued player on the
court.

But Shulman and King suffered no letdown. They maintained the high level of play they displayed the previous day and earned the crown in relatively routine fashion.

For Shulman, it was yet another big moment in a career full of them. He will seek his third consecutive NCAA tournament singles berth in the spring, and this triumph is a huge step in his hopes to reach the 16-tandem NCAA doubles tourney for the first time.

King, who grew up in Sydney, Australia, played for Division II Catawba and Division I Temple before coming to CNU. Now, beginning his second season on Shoe Lane, he'll make his first appearance in a national event.

Other highlights for CNU included:

--Gian Heyer winning two matches in the championship draw and reaching the round of 16;

--Heyer and Joey Manilla advancing through a round in the doubles main draw;

--Chris Yost and Sky Masand winning two of the three sets they played Sunday and taking second place in the B3 doubles flight;

--Robbie Wagner beating two opponents to advance to the B3 singles semis;

--Garrett Widing nearly upsetting Miller in the first round, taking the eventual runner-up to 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in an entertaining slugfest.

--Masand posting two victories before losing in a B4 singles semifinal.

--Tobin and Will Sloan winning a match to move into the B2 quarterfinals.

Players from CNU took the court 36 times and won exactly half the time, winning 18 matches. The Captains were 8-5 in doubles, 10-13 in singles.

CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW
Doubles
First round:
(5) Matt King-Eric Shulman (CNU) d. Kevin Aquino-Alex Blakhin (Mary Washington) 8-4.
Thomas Cooper-Harsha Rao (Carnegie Mellon) d. Robbie Wagner-Garrett Widing (CNU) 8-5.
Gian Heyer-Joey Manilla (CNU) d. Dan Park-Irving Stone (Swarthmore) 8-5.

Round of 16:
King-Shulman d. Forrest Grinstead-Jooho Yu (Carnegie Mellon) 8-3.
(5) Andy Hersh-Jeff Kamei (Johns Hopkins) d. Heyer-Manilla 8-5.

Quarterfinal:
King-Shulman d. Tanner Brown-Ben Hwang (Johns Hopkins) 8-2.

Semifinal:
King-Shulman d. Evan Charles-Donato Rizzolo (Mary Washington) 9-8 (7-3).

Final:
King-Shulman d. Duke Miller-Will Duncan (Carnegie Mellon) 6-3, 6-2.

Singles
First round:
Tyler Carey (Mary Washington) d. (1) Eric Shulman (CNU) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3).
(4) Warren Elgort (Johns Hopkins) d. Kyle Tobin (CNU) 6-0, 6-0.
(5) Duke Miller (Carnegie Mellon) d. Garrett Widing (CNU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
(8) Gian Heyer (CNU) d. Kevin Aquino (Mary Washington) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.
Julian Pearlman (Carnegie Mellon) d. Matt King (CNU) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5.
(2) Hayden White (Washington & Lee) d. Joey Manilla (CNU) 6-2, 6-1.

Round of 32:
Heyer d. Max Sacks (Swarthmore) 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2.

Round of 16:
(9) Erik Lim (Johns Hopkins) d. Heyer 7-5, 7-5.

Consolation:
Shulman d. Jon Roy (Roanoke) 8-2.
Andy Daugherty (Haverford) d. Tobin 8-1.
Justin Smith (Salisbury) d. Widing 8-6.
Alex Blakhin (Mary Washington) d. King 8-6.
Manilla d. Ted Cooke (Stevenson) 8-4.
Preston Poon (Swarthmore) d. Shulman 9-7.
Anthony Collard (Swarthmore) d. Manilla 4-0, retired-injury.

SUPPLEMENTAL DRAWS
B3 singles
First round:
Robbie Wagner (CNU) d. Eric Cooperman (York of Pa.) 6-2, 6-2.

Quarterfinal:
Wagner d. Tim Goetz (Bridgewater) 6-2, 6-1.

Semifinal:
Franco Mena (Dickinson) d. Wagner 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8).

B4 singles
First round:
Ira Usry (Randolph-Macon) d. Will Sloan (CNU) by walkover-injury.

Consolation:
Ian Sammler (Hampden-Sydney) d. Sloan by walkover.

B5 singles
First round:
Sky Masand (CNU) d. Barrett Polan (Hampden-Sydney) 6-1, 6-2.
Chris Yost (CNU) d. James Villari (York of Pa.), 6-1, 7-5.

Quarterfinals:
Masand d. Jody Cox (Randolph-Macon) 6-2, 6-4.
Eric Chavis (Muhlenberg) d. Yost 6-3, 6-2.

Semifinal:
Paul Whitman (Elizabethtown) d. Masand 6-3, 7-5.

B2 doubles
First round:
Sloan-Tobin (CNU) d. Connor Hoerr-Ira Usry (Randolph-Macon 8-6.

Quarterfinal:
Brent Floyd-Tim Goetz (Bridgewater) d. Sloan-Tobin (CNU) 6-4.

B3 doubles
Quarterfinal:
Masand-Yost (CNU) d. Kyle Feeley-Thomas Hoesman (St. Mary's of Md.) 6-3.

Semifinal:
Masand-Yost d. Rob Buesser-Corey Galembo (Muhlenberg) 6-3.

Final:
Mike Cable-Tim Churchill (Bridgewater) d. Masand-Yost 6-4.

The tournament's home page is here:

https://tennislink.usta.com/tourname....aspx?T=115481