Complete Box ScoreREDLANDS, Calif. -- It took a three-set victory at No. 5 singles for the undefeated and 14th-ranked University of Redlands (6-0) to get past 32nd-ranked Christopher Newport (4-5) on Friday afternoon, as CNU hung tough in a 5-4 setback. The Captains got three singles wins, including at the top two positions, but could not overcome an early deficit against the Bulldogs.
CNU took an early lead with the first win of the day at No. 2 doubles, with
Justin Cerny and
David Reed posting an 8-3 win over Taylor Hunt and Tom Suchodolski. The other two doubles matchups were far more competitive, but it was the home team that came out of pairs play with a 2-1 lead. First, at No. 3, Bryant Johnson and Sawyer Patterson got a key break for an 8-6 win over
Nicholas Ruzicka and
William Trang, but it was the battle at No. 1 that swung momentum.
CNU sent their most experienced duo to the court in senior
Chiraag Shetty and junior
Steven Boslet, paired up against Redlands' sophomore and junior tandem of Joey Dulle and Jake Ly. The two teams teetered back and forth before the match was knotted up at eight points apiece, forcing a tiebreaker. In the extra points, again the teams answered eachother from start to finish, but Dulle and Ly got the key clinching point to capture a hotly contested 9-8 (7-5) win.
The Bulldogs were spurred on into singles play, and clinched the match with three of the first four points in head-to-head play. Redlands won at Nos. 4, 3 and 5 to pull ahead 5-2. The second point for CNU came at No. 1 singles where Reed captured a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Dulle for the Captains. W
With the match out of reach, CNU also won at Nos. 2 and 6, with Cerny posting a three-set win in the former and
Arttu Fiva adding a 7-5, 6-4 win in the latter. Cerny downed Johnson and Fiva won against Ly.
Christopher Newport will play one more match in California before returning from the spring break trip to the West Coast, taking on Wabash College on Saturday, March 5 at 3:00 pm (PST).
