Complete Box Score vs. No. 9 Carnegie MellonLEXINGTON, Va. -- The 39th-ranked Christopher Newport men's tennis team saw its modest four-match winning streak come to an end on Sunday, as the ninth-ranked Tartans of Carnegie Mellon University defeated the Captains on a neutral court, 9-0. CNU falls to 11-6 overall this season, while Carnegie Mellon improves to the same mark with the win.
In singles play, the Captains were faced with the stiff challenge of playing four regionally-ranked individuals in the contest, including the third-ranked singles player in the Atlantic South, Abhishek Alla. Rookie
David Reed, ranked 13th in the region, had the challenge at No. 1 against Alla, and played well against the junior, but ultimately suffered a 6-4, 6-3 loss.
Sophomore
Steven Boslet took on seventh-ranked Christian Heaney-Secord in the second line, suffering a 6-1, 6-3 setback, and rookie
Justin Cerny fell to 19th-ranked Will Duncan at No. 3, 6-1, 6-3. Rounding out the regionally-ranked singles players for Carnegie Mellon, 21st-ranked Kunal Wadwani defeated sophomore
Arttu Fiva, 6-2, 6-3 on the fourth line.
In all nine matches, the Captains were shut out in just one set, and posted multiple game victories in all but five total sets. CNU showed some grit against one of the top teams in the nation, specifically in doubles where the Captains hung in against a strong contingent of Tartan tandems.
Like in singles, Carnegie Mellon had multiple ranked teams in doubles, as Duncan and Heaney-Secord are the third-ranked tandem in the region, playing at No. 1. Cerny and Reed, CNU's regionally-ranked pairing at No. 12, battled against the more experienced Tartan doubles team, but bowed out at 8-4. The Tartans played their other regionally-ranked pair at No. 3, as Yuvraj Kumar and Bryce Beisswanger, ranked 8th, handed Fiva and
Max Katcher an 8-2 loss.
The Captains' tough schedule doesn't get any easier in their next match, as CNU will travel to face 10th-ranked Johns Hopkins on April 4 at Noon.
