Complete Box ScoreWELLESLEY, Mass. -- The 33rd-ranked Christopher Newport women's tennis team raced past No. 28 Babson College in the finale of the 2016 Nor'Easter Bowl on Sunday, ending the trip to Massachusetts on a positive note. The Captains improved to 11-5 while the Beavers fall to 12-6, as CNU scored three singles victories and two of three doubles wins.
Facing Babson for the first time in program history, CNU was closing out the 5th Annual Nor'Easter Bowl on neutral courts at host Wellesley College. The Beavers played most of their dual schedule in the Fall, going 11-2 in September and October. Since the start of the spring season, Babson had lost three straight before taking down Rensselaer in the Nor'Easter Bowl on Saturday, 7-2. CNU, who won seven straight Division III matches to start the season, were looking to bounce back after a three-game losing skid.
Leaning on their talented sophomore class, that's just what the Captains did on Sunday morning against the nationally-ranked Babson squad. It was the third win over a nationally-ranked opponent this season for the Captains, who defeated No. 23 La Verne and No. 34 Chapman during a spring break trip to California.
In doubles action, the Captains got out to a 2-1 lead with wins at Nos. 2 and 3, all by second-year players. At No. 2,
Alexandra Drye and
Emily Morgan got back on the right track with an 8-4 win over Tori Paolino and Kylie Kam. The CNU pairing is now 12-3 at No. 2 doubles this season. At No. 3, two more sophomores,
Kate Huck and
Isabelle Wessel, pulled away for an 8-3 win over Alexandra Blizard and Claire Foster. On the top line, CNU suffered a close loss, 8-6, to Eleni Gianelos and Chloe Brandt.
CNU pulled within one point of a team win with a pair of quick wins in singles at 2 and 3. Junior
Katie Carlson won at No. 2, downing Paolino by a final score of 6-3, 6-3, and sophomore
Claire Dockrill earned a 6-3, 6-3 win over Brandt.
Clinching the match, another second-year Captain surged to a win at No. 1 singles, as
McKinney Harwood capped a successful weekend with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Gianelos. Gianelos was regionally-ranked No. 17 in the latest Oracle/ITA Northeast Region Rankings, as Harwood picked up her first win of the year against a ranked foe. The clincher gave Harwood her sixth win at No. 1 singles this season, and the CNU sophomore went 3-0 this weekend at the No. 1 line in the Nor'Easter Bowl.
The Captains seven-match road swing will continue on April 9, as CNU travels to No. 18 Mary Washington in Capital Athletic Conference action. CNU will take on the Eagles at 11:00 am in the first of three league matches in two days.
