SALISBURY, Md. -- Taking on a pair of teams from the state of Maryland, the 24th-ranked Christopher Newport women's tennis team first suffered a 7-2 setback at No. 23 Johns Hopkins on Saturday afternoon before bouncing back for a 9-0 win in Capital Athletic Conference action on Sunday at Salisbury University.
The Captains improved to 10-7 overall and 5-1 in league action on Sunday with a shutout against the Sea Gulls, who fell to 11-5, 5-1. The nationally-ranked Blue Jays improved to 9-3 after the non-conference victory over Christopher Newport.
First, in Saturday's out of league action, CNU picked up a pair of points in singles play from newcomers. Junior transfer
Olivia Reed edged out Evelyn Chang at No. 3 singles, 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (12-10) and rookie
Reagan Delp continued her hot streak with a win at No. 4 over Dhanya Asokumar, 6-1. 6-3.
With another win on Sunday, Delp has now won nine straight matches in singles play to improve to 12-6 in her first year at CNU. In the match against Salisbury, she downed Sydney Soto by a final score of 6-2, 6-1 as part of a singles sweep for the Captains.
CNU also got straight set wins from
Johanna Ranta-aho at No. 1, defeating Annika Kezman, 6-0, 6-4; Reed at No. 2 against Laura Brown, 6-4, 6-3;
Kara Ferner over Taylor Cooper at No. 3, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5; and
Alison Burgess versus Shannon Hickman at No. 6, 6-2, 6-1. The only match that went more than two sets came at No. 5, where
Amanda Yermal outlasted Jordan Schaefer in the No. 5 matchup, 2-6, 6-3, 10-8.
In doubles play against the Sea Gulls, CNU cruised to a 3-0 lead. The match started with an 8-0 win at No. 2 from
Colette Gilbert and Yermal, followed by an 8-3 win at No. 3 by Delp and Ferner and an 8-2 win at No. 1 by Ranta-aho and Reed.
CNU will close the regular season on Friday, April 19 as they travel to Southern Virginia University for a 1:00 pm match. Once postseason seeding has been decided, the Captains will then focus on the first round of the CAC Tournament set to begin on April 27.
