Box Score

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Senior Joey Manilla closed his career with a pair of wins, but the second-seeded Christopher Newport Captains (14-8) were unable to hold off third-seeded Salisbury University (13-40 in the Capital Athletic Conference Semifinals on Wednesday afternoon, dropping a 6-3 decision. Both teams were ranked in the most recent ITA Regional Rankings, as the 19th-ranked Sea Gulls upset the host and ninth-ranked Captains. 

Salisbury opened with a 2-1 lead after doubles, winning a pivotal match in the No. 1 doubles position. The top spot featured a pair of regionally ranked tandems, with the 15th-ranked Captains pairing of Steven Boslet and Sam Thomson looking to avenge a regular season loss to eighth-ranked Daniel Albers and Eric Spangler of Salisbury. The two tandems locked in a battle from the start, with the CNU pair takinga  7-4 lead before the Salisbury coupling stormed back to force a tiebreak. From their, Albers and Spangler closed out the 9-8 (7-3) win. 

In singles play, Manilla picked up the first win to tie the team score at two, when he cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Shane Gunther in the No. 4 matchup. The Captains then teetered in front as rookie Arttu Fiva picked up the third team point of the match for CNU, besting Matthew McGaffney (6-0, 7-5) in the No. 5 position. 

A pair of three-set matchups would prove to be the difference for Salisbury, earning wins at No. 3 and No. 6 despite dropping a set in each. Sam Thomson won the first set 6-2, but Demetri Vrahnos came back for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 3. In the No. 6 matchup, senior Joona Rahko was nipped in the first set, 7-6, bounced back for a 6-4 win in the second set, but fell to Shanon Gunther in the third, 6-4. 

Salisbury will now advance to play for the CAC Championship at top-seeded Mary Washington, who defeated St. Mary's College (Md.) Wednesday evening.