CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- After facing off against some of the toughest competition in Division III, a trio of Christopher Newport men's tennis players concluded play at the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships. Senior
Scotty Hunter fell in the opening round of the Singles bracket while junior
Ryan Macy and sophomore
Alec Strause suffered a first-round loss in the Doubles draw.
First up,
Scotty Hunter was tasked with the toughest test of the day when he had a first-round draw against top-seeded Ethan Hillis from Washington University (Mo.). The three-time singles All-American came into the match undefeated with an impressive 13-0 record this season.
Hunter battled in tough conditions against Hillis but the WashU senior pulled away for a 6-0, 6-3 win. The CNU senior was only the third opponent this season to score three games in the second set against Hillis this year.
The CNU transfer from Old Dominion University was robbed of the majority of his junior campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but finished out his senior season with 13 career victories in the abbreviated tenure. He played exclusively at No. 1 in his second year in Newport News and garnered first team All-Conference plaudits.
Later in the day,
Ryan Macy and
Alec Strause were forced to move their match indoors and much later than anticipated. With inclement weather in the area, the shift in plans saw Macy and Strause have to cool down and move to the McCallie School over two hours later than their originally scheduled match. In addition to the shift in play, the Captains were taking on a talented pair from Brandeis University in Jeffrey Chen and Adam Tzeng.
The Judges picked up the win over the CNU pairing, 6-0, 6-2, and advanced to Saturday's quarterfinal round. It was the first win since 1989 for Brandeis in the NCAA Division III Doubles Championship.
Macy and Strause buttoned up an exceptional year in tandem play after earning first team All-Conference honors as the top pair for CNU this year. The duo played at No. 1 all season long and put together a team-best 8-5 overall record, including a strong flourish to close the campaign with wins in four of their last six bouts.
Christopher Newport finished the 2021 spring season with a 6-6 overall record and the most national qualifiers in program history. It was the first time in the over 50-year history of CNU men's tennis that three different individuals attended the NCAA Division III Singles and Doubles Champioships. In 2008, CNU was also represented in both brackets, but only a pair traveled as John Mook qualified in both singles and doubles with Eddie Glidewell as his partner.
