Box Score

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In a first-place showdown with the 19th-ranked University of Mary Washington (18-3, 7-0), the 39th-ranked Christopher Newport Captains (11-8, 4-1) battled throughout the day on their home courts before falling to the Eagles, 8-1. Rookie Justin Cerny picked up the lone win for CNU, at No. 3 singles, racing past his opponent in a third set match tiebreaker.

As the match got underway in doubles on an overcast, cool afternoon in Newport News, it was clear from the outset that the Captains were going to hang with the 15-time defending conference champions. The Eagles, featuring two regionally-ranked doubles tandems, managed to wrap up the undefeated regular season in conference play, but not before a scare in all three doubles matches. 

At the marquee matchup in No. 1 doubles, CNU's 12th-ranked pairing of Justin Cerny and David Reed got out to a good start against the second-ranked Mary Washington tandem of Tyler Carey and Evan Charles.  Giving up three years of experience to the Eagles senior duo, the Captains rookie pair were not intimidated. Cerny & Reed took a 1-0 lead, and from there did not trail until the Eagles won the final three points. CNU was ahead 6-5 before the seniors strapped down for an 8-6 win and the doubles sweep. 

The other two doubles matchups were just as close, as CAC Player of the Week Steven Boslet paired with Chiraag Shetty for an 8-6 loss at No. 2, and Arttu Fiva paired with rookie Max Katcher for a tight 9-7 setback at No. 3. 

In singles play, the Captains got a big win from Cerny for their lone team point on Tuesday. Facing junior David Lunding-Johansson, the CNU freshman won the first set 7-5 before dropping the second, 6-4. With the match already decided in favor of the Eagles, the two went to a third set match tiebreaker to settle the head-to-head battle, in a race to 10 points. 

Cerny won the first two points before finishing in the net for the third, as Lunding-Johansson picked up a point, but the CNU rookie won the next three points to take a commanding 5-1 lead. After switching sides, the Mary Washington third-year player pulled within two, but Cerny won three of the next four to go up 8-4. After another switch, a masterful serve by Cerny forced Lunding-Johansson into the net on a return, setting up match point. On the ensuing rally, another great forehand from Cerny saw Lunding-Johansson return a lob long, clinching the win for CNU at No. 3. 

In the other singles matchups, Fiva and Shetty had strong performances at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Fiva fell 6-3, 7-6 (1) to Brandon Griffin, and Shetty dropped a 6-2, 7-5 matchup against Evan Charles. 

The Captains will return to action on Wednesday, hosting St. Mary's College of Maryland. The match was moved up two hours to begin at 2:00 pm, in an effort to beat inclement weather expected in the Hampton Roads area.