Box Score

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Closing out the regular season, the Christopher Newport University men's tennis team snapped Virginia Wesleyan's seven-match win streak and pulled away for a 6-3 win. The Captains improved to 14-7 as they won the battle of regionally-ranked foes, and the Marlins fell to 13-4 on the season. 

The momentum looked ready to swing at No. 1 doubles, with the teams tied at one after a split of No. 2 and 3. The CNU veteran tandem of senior Joey Manilla and sophomore Chiraag Shetty were locked in a tight matchup with Graham Wilson and Kenneth Dowling, with the top doubles pairing tied at seven games. CNU's duo led 7-4 earlier in the match, but Wilson and Dowling battled back to tie things up. Manilla and Shetty settled, though, and won the next two games to capture a 9-7 victory and hand CNU a 2-1 lead after doubles. 

The Marlins would answer, though, winning two of the first three singles matches to tie the match up at three. Rookie Steven Boslet tipped the Captains back in front with a three-set win at No. 2, dropping Dowling in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 final. That would set up the match-clinching victory from sophomore Jake Smith. 

Playing at the No. 5 position, Smith was paired against Tyler Chang in one of the late singles matches. The sophomore clinched on an unreturnable second serve, finishing out a 6-4, 6-4 win to give CNU the team victory. 

Manilla had a strong performance in singles play as well, winning the last five games of his match from 1-4 in the second, helping CNU jump out to a 3-1 lead. He dropped Spenser Bullock in a 6-4, 6-4 final. 

The Captains will now turn their focus to the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament, and have earned a first-round bye. CNU will host #3-seed Salisbury University in the CAC Semifinals on April 23.