SALISBURY, Md. -- For the fifth straight season, the Christopher Newport men's tennis team advanced to the Capital Athletic Conference Championship Match and will face top-seeded Mary Washington in the final on Friday. The third-seeded Captains (13-8) went on the road and defeated #2-seed Salisbury University (17-6) in the CAC Semifinals on Wednesday, 5-1.
Christopher Newport dropped a 5-4 decision to the Sea Gulls in the regular season but avenged that loss on Wednesday with another tightly-contested matchup. CNU picked up a critical second point in doubles as the six singles matches, albeit with three unfinished, were split between the two teams. That second doubles point would not come easy, as the No. 2 tandem was stretched to a tiebreaker before wining 8-7 (7-5).
James Baron and
Dominic Lacombe were the two Captains playing at No. 2 doubles against Alexander Angradi and Patrick MacLean. CNU was on the board first with an 8-6 win at No. 3 where
William Trang and
Nicholas Ruzicka defeated Matthew Ryan and Ryan Santmyer. With a thrilling regionally-ranked showdown on the top line falling to the Sea Gulls, it was Baron and Lacombe that earned the pivotal swing point in doubles action.
Carrying a 2-1 advantage into singles, the Captains earned a two-point edge when Angradi was forced to retire from the No. 1 bout with Lacombe. CNU's junior led the match 6-2, 1-0 before Angradi was forced out of the match, giving the Captains a 3-1 lead.
Ian Siew, MacLean, and Brad Pappalardo each one the first set of their matches for Salisbury, putting the pressure on rookie
Ryan Macy and senior
William Trang in the final two singles bouts. Macy put the Captains within one point of clinching when he finished off Kelson Weber by a score of 6-2, 6-3, picking up his fifth straight win and adding to his team-high singles win total this year with 16. Then, it was Trang playing in the No. 3 slot for just the fourth time this season as he took on Colt Williamson. The CNU senior held on for a straight set victory to clinch the match and his fourth straight trip to the league finals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
The Captains, ranked 12th in the Atlantic South region, disposed of Salisbury, ranked No. 7 in the region, for the fifth straight year in the CAC semifinals. The two also matched up in the semis six years ago in CNU's first season as members of the league, but the Sea Gulls captured the win in that matchup.
Christopher Newport improved to 13-8 and will travel to Fredericksburg, Va. to take on 15th ranked Mary Washington, who improved to 21-4 after a 5-1 win against Southern Virginia in the other CAC semifinal.
