Box Score vs. Sewanee
Box Score vs. Southern Virginia

BUENA VISTA, Va. -- After suffering a tough 5-4 loss to Sewanee University Saturday morning, the 38th-ranked Christopher Newport men's tennis team bounced back to soar past Southern Virginia University in the Capital Athletic Conference opener, 9-0. The Captains (8-5, 1-0) were led by a 4-0 performance from Justin Cerny, including the rookie's first career win over a regionally-ranked foe. 

Cerny played at the No. 1 doubles spot in both matches, and also captured wins at No. 3 singles vs. the Tigers (8-4), and at the No. 2 spot vs. the Knights (1-5). He dropped just one game in his two singles victories, and combined with David Reed for both wins in doubles. 

In the morning matchup, the Captains faced off against the regionally-ranked Sewanee Tigers on a neutral court in Lexington, Va. CNU came out of doubles up 2-1, with wins at No. 1 and 2 heading into singles. Cerny and Reed dropped Avery Schober and Connor Winkler, 8-4, and Steven Boslet paired with Chiraag Shetty for an 8-4 win over Rand Jackson and Davis Owen. 

Sewanee, ranked seventh in the ITA Atlantic South Region, captured two of the first three singles matches to even the score at 3-3. Cerny had the early win for CNU, dropping Connor Winkler, ranked 14th regionally, by a score of 6-0, 6-1. Schober captured a key win at the top spot over Reed, but CNU teetered back in front, 4-3, with a win at No. 2 from Steven Boslet. The Captains' sophomore was stretched to three sets, but won 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 over Jackson. 

Scott Gallimore and Alex Cooper came up big for Sewanee, though, capturing wins at No. 4 and 6 for the come-from-behind win. 

CNU shook off the morning setback as the team then traveled to Buena Vista to take on their first conference match against the Knights. The Captains breezed past Southern Virginia, earning shutout wins in eight of the nine matches.

All three doubles pairings earned 8-0 victories, including the first career doubles appearance from Dillon Sykes. The rookie paired with Michael Dodd, also making his season double debut, at No. 3 to take down Parker Monson and Tanner Heyland. Sykes and Dodd also played in singles, winning 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 and 4, respectively. 

Cerny capped his impressive performance on the day with a straight set win over Brennan Alford at No. 2, while joining Reed for an 8-0 win at No. 1 doubles. 

The Captains return to action on Sunday, March 22 as they host Frostburg State University in their second straight conference matchup. The first home conference match of the year starts at 10:00 am.