Complete Box Score

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Facing their first nationally-ranked opponent of the season, the 28th-ranked Christopher Newport men's tennis team suffered it's first spring loss, 7-2, at the hands of 32nd-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan College. The Captains picked up one singles and one doubles victory in the match while falling to 3-2 on the season. 

Playing at No. 3 doubles, sophomore Dominic Lacombe and junior Nicholas Ruzicka captured an 8-2 win over Roberto Puig and David Chang. In the No. 1 doubles bout, the Captains narrowly were edged by Sebastian Sikh and Ioannis Brokakis, 8-6. At the end of doubles, the Battling Bishops took a 2-1 lead with an 8-2 win at No. 2. 

In singles action, senior Justin Cerny captured the lone win for the Captains, pulling out a hard-fought battle at No. 2. Cerny was taking on Brokakis and dropped the first set, 6-4 before bouncing back with a thrilling 7-6 win in the second. With the match already decided, Cerny teetered back and forth in the tiebreaker before finally capturing a 12-10 victory. He is now 4-1 in duals this season, all at No. 2. 

CNU battled in the other five singles matches, including a strong effort in the first set from Ruzicka at No. 5, playing to 12 games before suffering a 7-5 set loss. Andy Mason also won seven games at No. 4 against J.D. Telles but suffered a 6-4, 6-3 setback. 

The Captains will look to bounce back against another nationally-ranked team on Sunday, as they welcome in 15th-ranked Case Western Reserve at 10:00 am.