CLAREMONT, Calif. -- Facing one of the highest ranked teams the program has ever gone head-to-head with, the 34th-ranked Christopher Newport women's tennis team fell to 5th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday, 9-0. While the Athenas proved too much to handle overall, the Captains held their own, picking up a pair of set victories in singles action, while competing hard in doubles play as well. 

In doubles action, junior Emily Morgan and senior Katie Carlson put together the best effort against CMS in the No. 3 matchup. Facing Lauren Yamagami and Nicole Tan, the veteran Captains' duo dropped an 8-5 decision for the closest margin of the day. Kate Huck and Johanna Ranta-aho added an 8-4 finish at No. 2 doubles, falling to Madison Shea and Juliette Martin. 

Huck also played extremely well in singles action,  battling Ana Bryan-Ajania in the No. 3 singles bout. Huck fell in the first set, but answered right back with a 6-3 victory in the second. The CNU junior ran out of gas in the 10-point match tiebreaker, falling to Bryan Ajania by a final score of 6-3, 3-6, 10-3. 

Fellow junior Claire Dockrill also snagged a win in the second set of the No. 6 matchup, facing Yamagami for the Athenas. After falling behind a set, 6-1, Dockrill responded with a 6-4 win to force the breaker. Dockrill matched Yamagami point for point until finally the CMS freshman captured an 11-9 win. 

McKinney Harwood and Ranta-aho each suffered losses to nationally-ranked opponents in 1 and 2, respectively. Alexandra Drye and Isabelle Wessel rounded out the competition for CNU with losses at 4 and 5. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Sunday, March 5, as they take on Chapman University.