Complete Box Score vs. Franklin & Marshall
Complete Box Score vs. Longwood

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The 37th-ranked CNU men's tennis team improved to 2-2 overall this season with a win over Franklin & Marshall (0-1) and a setback to NCAA Division I foe Longwood University (2-3) on Saturday. The Captains cruised past the Diplomats, 8-1, before nearly defeating the Lancers in out-of-division play. 

Playing at the Eyre Courts for the first time this Spring, the Captains made quick work of the regionally-ranked Franklin & Marshall program playing in their season opener.  CNU swept the doubles action and lost only one singles match to pull away for an 8-1 win. 

First, in doubles, Steven Boslet and Chiraag Shetty defeated Doug Kaplan and Jack Rothman (8-3) to pick up their seventh win of the season playing together. Shetty also took over sole possession of 10th all-time in career doubles victories with 47, passing Thomas Onoff on the Top 10 list. 

Sophomore tandem Justin Cerny and David Reed improved to 3-1 at No. 2 this spring with an 8-2 dismantling of Inigo Flores and Vasant Rajamanickam. Rounding out the sweep, Arttu Fiva and Nicholas Ruzicka paired for a resilient 9-8 (5) win at the No. 3 spot. 

CNU pulled within one point of the team victory when Ruzicka's opponent was forced to retire. The next  point went to Franklin & Marshall, when Isaac Salas landed the lone win of the day for the Diplomats at No. 4, but the Captains clinched behind Fiva's 6-1, 6-1 victory over Will Samuels. Reed, Cerny and Boslet all won in the top three slots. 

Later in the day, CNU would get back to work against Longwood, marking the first of three matches against Division I opponents this season. Playing in the Division I scoring format where doubles count as just one point, the Captains fell behind as Longwood won two of the three pairings to take a 1-0 lead headed into singles. 

There, CNU more than looked comfortable against the Lancers, picking up three victories and taking a 3-2 lead headed into the final two singles matches. Unfortunately, the Captains could not pull out one of the final two victories and Longwood escaped with the tight 4-3 victory. 

Cerny defeated Florian Uffer (6-1, 6-3) at No. 2, while Boslet downed Bharani Sankar (6-3, 6-3) at No. 3. The Captains final victory came from Fiva, who took down Lachlan Manser (6-4, 6-0) in the No. 5 line. 

The Captains will take on their second Division I foe in as many days when they welcome in the University of Richmond on Sunday at Noon. Fans should note the time change, as the match was originally scheduled for 11 but has been moved back to a Noon start.