Complete Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. -- With a 5-4 final score sealed by senior Chiraag Shetty, the 29th-ranked Christopher Newport men's tennis team picked up inarguably one of the biggest wins in program history on Saturday afternoon, downing 13th-ranked Johns Hopkins University on the road. The Captains improved to 9-5 overall with their first ever win over the Blue Jays, who drop to 4-1 on the season. 

Highlighting the victory was a stellar individual win at No. 1 singles, as sophomore David Reed captured a win over nationally-ranked Mike Buxbaum. The junior for JHU was listed as the 9th-ranked singles player in the November 3 Oracle/ITA Division III Men's Tennis National Rankings; Buxbaum ranked 3rd in the Atlantic South while Reed was slotted in at No. 21. Reed gave up the first set, 6-4, but then blitzed past Buxbaum in the second, 6-0. With it coming down to a third set tiebreaker, Reed picked up the win, 6-1, for his first career win over a nationally-ranked opponent. 

The huge win for Reed would be imperative, as Christopher Newport fell behind, 2-1, after doubles play. The Captains won at the top line, 8-4, but then suffered an 8-5 and 8-0 loss at Nos. 2 and 3. Junior Steven Boslet paired with Shetty for the win at No. 1 doubles, taking down Buxbaum and Dubin, playing together for the Blue Jays. 

At No. 2 singles, CNU got another win over a regionally-ranked opponent, as Justin Cerny defeated Jeremy Dubin. Cerny closed out the first set, 6-4, before Dubin retired in the second half for the Captains' point. With the match knotted at two points apiece, it was the Captains that then teetered in front with a win at No. 3 singles from junior Steven Boslet. Boslet bounced back after losing the second set and didn't drop a game in the third, downing Scott Thygesen by a final score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-0. 

Hopkins would answer to tie it up with a win at No. 4, but CNU again bounced ahead, 4-3, with Reed's win at No. 1. With two matches going on and needing just one for the team win, the Captains would lean on their senior leader to clinch the team win. Shetty broke in the third game of the final set, and went on a run, holding serve three times to close out the victory, 6-2. Shetty defeated Justin Kang at No. 4 singles by a score of 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-2 to clinch the thrilling team win. 

It was the first win for the Captains over a Top 15 ranked team in the four-year tenure under Director of Tennis Eric Christiansen. The Captains will look to parlay the dramatic non-conference win with another tough set over the next two weeks as they host Salisbury and travel to Mary Washington, York (Pa.) and Penn State Harrisburg in a five-game stretch.