Complete Box Score vs. #23 WhittierWHITTIER, Calif. -- The Christopher Newport men's tennis team will return to Newport News with a big win under their belts after dropping the nationally-ranked Whittier Poets (1-3) on Friday, by a final score of 7-2. The Captains improved to 7-3 on the season after the dominant victory, powered by five of six wins in singles play, and picked up their first win over a ranked team in 2015.
The Captains raced out to a 2-1 lead after doubles, capturing wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Rookies
Justin Cerny and
David Reed earned an 8-3 win at the top spot, dropping Troy Chavez and Tyler Linscott. In the No. 2 matchup,
Steven Boslet and
Chiraag Shetty improved to 7-2 on the season with an 8-4 win over Samuel Farmer and David Stanko.
CNU nearly swept the doubles points, as
Arttu Fiva and
Max Katcher were locked in a highly competitive matchup against Shogo Shimizu and Ian Ross, but would ultimately succumb to a 9-8 (1) loss to the home team.
The Captains wouldn't need the sweep anyway, with a dominant display through the singles matchups. The road team won five of six individual battles, and only one player was stretched to a third set. Reed dropped Farmer (6-4, 6-1) in the top spot, while Cerny, Fiva, Shetty and Katcher all captured wins for CNU. Katcher's straight set victory over Ian Ross at No. 6 clinched the win for CNU, winning 6-0, 6-1.
Coming into Friday's match, the Captains were ranked 10th in the Atlantic South and the Poets were up to sixth in the West regional rankings. CNU is now up to 5-2 against regionally-ranked opponents this season.
CNU's run of difficult matches will continue before they return home, set to face off against No. 37 Washington & Lee in their next match on March 20. Despite returning from the West Coast, the Captains will continue their eight-match road trip with the Generals, followed by a neutral site match against Sewanee and the conference opener at Southern Virginia.
