Complete Box ScoreCLAREMONT, Calif. -- After making the cross-country trek to California, the Christopher Newport men's tennis team did not shy away from top competition in a five-match spring break trip. CNU will face four nationally-ranked teams, and started with the toughest task to date, taking on defending national champion and top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday afternoon. The Captains suffered a 9-0 setback to the Stags, but battled through doubles play and played some close singles matches as well before eventually falling to 2-4 overall this season.
The 37th-ranked Captains fought hard in doubles play, falling by scores of 8-5, 8-5 and 8-4. The impressive effort by CNU was not enough to come away with a point in tandem play, but the Captains pairings showed grit against one of the toughest groups in the nation.
isplaying that fortitude most were junior
Steven Boslet and
Chiraag Shetty, facing off against the 15th-ranked doubles tandem in the country in Skyler Butts and Glenn Hull. Shetty and Boslet matched the Stags' top pairing for the bulk of the match before the home team pulled away for an 8-5 win.
In singles action, CMS quickly clinched the team victory with two wins. The Captains won at least two games in all six individual matches, and got a team-best seven game wins at No. 5 singles. That performance came from rookie
Nicholas Ruzicka, who faced off against the first regionally-ranked oppoonent of his career, Rohan Shankar. Ruzicka finished with a 6-3, 6-4 setback at No. 5.
CNU also won six games at No. 3 and No. 6 against the Stags, falling 6-4, 6-2, in both of those matchups. Boslet was playing at No. 3, facing 40th-ranked Lestter Yeh, and it was junior
Arttu Fiva at No. 6, battling against Alfred Simental.
CMS improved to 5-0 with the win. CNU will now turn their focus to their next challenge on Sunday as they travel across town to No. 38 Chapman University for a 1:00 pm (PST) start. The Captains will then face No. 34 Cal Lutheran on March 1, No. 15 Redlands on March 4 and Wabash on March 5.
