CLAREMONT, Calif. -- In the first match of the Captains' trek to California, the 27th-ranked CNU men's tennis team fell to a top ten opponent on Saturday, 8-1. Pomona-Pitzer, ranked number nine in the country, swept singles action against the Captains to pull away for the win. 

The doubles action was close in all three matches, with Christopher Newport capturing the win on the top line. CNU's junior tandem of Justin Cerny and David Reed got the better of the Sagehens top pairing of seniors Spencer Simonides and Antony Bello. Cerny and Reed won a tight 8-6 decision for the Captains' lone team point on the afternoon. 

In No. 3 doubles, senior Michael Dodd and sophomore Nicholas Ruzicka wound up falling, 8-5, to Avery Bicks and Kalyan Chadalavada. At No. 2, Andy Mason and William Trang dropped an 8-3 decision to Graham Maassen and Jake Yasgoor. In all, four of the Sagehen starters were seniors, with one junior and one freshman also in the lineup. 

The singles action favorite the home team, with CNU winning just one set in the six bouts. Senior Arttu Fiva captured that win at No. 6 singles, opening the match with a 6-3 lead, but falling to Simonides in a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 final. Cerny also had a strong showing against Maassen in No. 2 singles, forcing a tiebreaker in the second set before succumbing to a 6-4, 7-6 (5) final score. 

Christopher Newport will shake off this loss and direct its attention to Chapman University with a match against the Panthers on Sunday, March 5. That matchup is scheduled to begin at 11:00 am.