KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Playing in the national tournament for the second straight year, Christopher Newport junior Johanna Ranta-aho suffered a first round loss to sixth-seeded Lauren O'Malley from John Carroll University, 6-3, 6-1. The Captains' star wraps up her season with an 18-8 record. 

Ranta-aho was charged with facing three-time All-American O'Malley in the first round and also forced to deal with a late change in venue as rain impacted play Friday morning. Scheduled to play on the outdoor courts at Western Michigan University, Ranta-aho and O'Malley were moved to the YMCA in Kalamazoo just prior to action beginning. 

The CNU sophomore is the first player in program history to appear in the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Singles National Championship more than once and just the third player ever to make the postseason appearance. She joined Vicki Nebinger (1982) and Amy Lawrence (1992) as the only other qualifiers in CNU Women's Tennis history. 

In Friday's loss, O'Malley won the first set, 6-3, before pulling away in the second set for a 6-1 win. 

The loss snapped a 4-match winning streak for the Helsinki, Finland native, who closes the year with an 18-8 overall record in singles play. She now ranks third all-time in career singles victories with a 57-19 overall record, which also ranks among the top-ten all-time in winning percentage with a .750 mark. She also sailed up to a tie for second with Amy Lawrence with 35 career wins at the No. 1 singles position, trailing only Lindsey Pantele (2006-08) in program history.