Isabelle Wessel Action
Jesse Hutcheson

Women's Tennis

No. 40 CNU Captures No. 2 Seed and Home Match for CAC Semifinals With 6-3 Win at Salisbury

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SALISBURY Md. -- The 40th-ranked Christopher Newport women's tennis team swept all six singles matches to capture a 6-3 win on the road Thursday afternoon, dropping regionally-ranked Salisbury University in the regular season finale. With the win, the Captains (13-5, 6-1) secured the No. 2 seed in next week's Capital Athletic Conference Tournament, and will host third-seeded Salisbury on Wednesday, April 22 in the Semifinal round. 

Heading into Thursday's matchup, both the Captains and Sea Gulls (13-6, 5-2) already knew they would be playing eachother in back-to-back matches, but the home court in the CAC semifinals was up for grabs. After doubles play, it looked like Salisbury was primed to steal that right from the nationally-ranked Captains, but the road team bounced back in a huge way during singles play. 

Trailing 3-0 after three highly competitive doubles matches, the Captains turned to their young roster in singles play. First, sophomore Katie Carlson captured a straight set win over Claudia Lohn at No. 3, 6-3, 6-2. She was backed up by straight-set wins from Meili Konell at No. 5, dropping Allison Lutz (6-4, 6-3) and Alexandra Drye at No. 2, defeating Katie Youlios (6-4, 6-2). 

With the score now tied at 3-3, the Captains battled through three more tough matches before sealing the win. The next win would come from freshman Kate Huck, at No. 4, taking on Megan Soderlund. She won the first set swiftly, 6-2, but would need a set tiebreaker in the second to earn a 6-2, 7-6 (1) win.

The match-clinching victory would come at No. 6, as Isabelle Wessel bounced back after a first-set loss to Charlotte Walker. Wessel turned it answered with a 6-2 win in the second set, and edged out Walker in a 7-5 win in the third set. 

Facing the 12th-ranked singles player in the Atlantic South, CNU's regionally-ranked freshman McKinney Harwood would round out the match at No. 1. She was facing Savage, who stretched Harwood to a tough breaker in the first before nearly forcing another in the second. The CNU rookie won 7-6 (9-7), 7-5. 

In doubles action, Salisbury surged to a 3-0 lead, capturing wins in order, 8-5; 9-8 (7-4); and 8-6. 

The Captains will now focus on their semifinal match with the Sea Gulls set for Wednesday, April 22. Both teams earned a first-round bye in the CAC Tournament and will face off against eachother in the semis for the second straight year. Match time is yet to be announced.
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Players Mentioned

Katie Carlson

Katie Carlson

5' 7"
Sophomore
Alexandra Drye

Alexandra Drye

5' 7"
Freshman
McKinney Harwood

McKinney Harwood

5' 8"
Freshman
Kate Huck

Kate Huck

5' 2"
Freshman
Meili Konell

Meili Konell

5' 3"
Freshman
Isabelle Wessel

Isabelle Wessel

5' 3"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Katie Carlson

Katie Carlson

5' 7"
Sophomore
Alexandra Drye

Alexandra Drye

5' 7"
Freshman
McKinney Harwood

McKinney Harwood

5' 8"
Freshman
Kate Huck

Kate Huck

5' 2"
Freshman
Meili Konell

Meili Konell

5' 3"
Freshman
Isabelle Wessel

Isabelle Wessel

5' 3"
Freshman