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FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- In a match much closer than the final score indicates, the 37th-ranked Christopher Newport men's tennis team succumbed to 18th-ranked Mary Washington in the Capital Athletic Conference Championship on Sunday, 7-2. Only three matches were straight set victories in the title bout, and several matches came down to tiebreakers as the Eagles (20-5) won their 16th straight conference title. 

The Captains fall to 13-11 this season after battling hard through a thrilling championship matchup with the Eagles. After falling to the nationally-ranked Mary Washington squad, 8-1, for their only loss in the regular season, second-seeded CNU went on the road to face the top-seeded Eagles. The first time the two teams matched up, each of the three doubles matchups came down to a two-point swing or closer, with Mary Washington winning 8-6, 8-6, 9-7 in order. This time around, the pair play was equally as competitive. 

The match started with CNU taking a 1-0 lead after a hard-fought 8-6 win at No. 3 doubles from sophomore Arttu Fiva and rookie Max Katcher. With the win, the Captains handed Mary Washington only its fifth loss at No. 3 doubles all year, and only the second for Andrew Curtis and Davind Lunding-Johansson as a pair. 

The other two doubles matchups would go to a tiebreaker as the teams were locked at 8-8 in both matches. Steven Boslet and Chiraag Shetty held an 8-7 lead, but the regionally-ranked pairing of Stratton Gilmore and Brandon Griffin responded to tie it up and then locked up the win with a 7-4 edge in the breaker. In the No. 1 battle, CNU's tandem of David Reed and Justin Cerny, ranked 11th in the Atlantic South, faced one of the region's premier partnerships in 2nd-ranked Tyler Carey and Evan Charles. The Captains' freshmen duo held their own against the senior pair for Mary Washington, but suffered a 7-0 loss in the breaker as the Eagles took a 2-1 lead headed into singles. 

The Eagles would get straight set wins at 3, 1 and 5 to capture the conference title, but the remaining singles matches were very close from start to finish. At No. 6, Katcher dropped the first set, 6-4, but responded by reversing that score in the second. He played Eric Hurwitz in a traditional third set as the match was not yet decided, but Hurwitz closed out the win, 6-1, after Mary Washington had clinched. Steven Boslet outlasted Gilmore in his first set at No. 2, capturing a 7-6 (8-6) win, but the Mary Washington junior won 6-2, 10-4 in the second and third set breaker. 

The final match to finish on Sunday afternoon was at No. 4 singles, where junior Chiraag Shetty ended his dual season on a high note with a three-set win over Brandon Griffin. Shetty dropped the first set, 6-3, but came back to win 6-2, 6-2 to steal a singles point from the Eagles and finish out the match with a 7-2 team score. 

Mary Washington captured the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and the field will be announced on May 4 at Noon.