NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's tennis program suffered 5-4 setback on Sunday afternoon, falling to Rhodes College on the Eyre Courts. The Captains raced out to an early 2-1 lead after doubles, but were edged out in singles as CNU falls to 5-6 on the season.
Vincent Truong led the way for the home team, winning at both No. 3 doubles and No. 5 singles to account for two of the Captains four points. He paired with
Ahun Vodela for a speedy 8-2 win at 3 doubles, disposing of the Lynx tandem of Gabe Williams and David Phillips.
CNU added a second point behind their ace duo on the top line as senior
Alec Strause paired with rookie
Nesh Kumaresan for an 8-6 win against Daniel Trudell and Christian Mainella. The dominance continues for the pair, who secured their sixth straight win and tenth overall together this year. Strause and Kumaresan are now 10-1 and currently rank tied for fourth all-time at CNU with a .909 winning percentage; the Captains top tandem have matched Mark Csintyan and Glenn Howe from the 1979 season and boast the top performance together since 1990 when Rush Cole and Holden Knight finished the year 21-2.
In singles action, Truong made it a clean sweep for the day after dropping the first set to Justin Bobo at No. 5. He rebounded to capture the win and pick up two points for CNU in the match, outlasting Bobo for a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) win.
The last point of the day came from
Edvard Porsmyr Hansen at No. 2 singles, where he took on Oliver Bonovich in another three-set battle. After Bonovich secured the win in the first set, the Captains' veteran rallied for back-to-back set victories and the match (4-6, 6-3, 7-5).
Kumaresan and Strause at No. 3 and 1, respectively, each stretched their opponent to set tiebreakers before ultimately falling. Kumaresan extended the first set to a 7-6 (6) final before dropping a 6-2 decision in the second and Strause lost 7-5 in the first set and forced Daniel Trudell to hold him off in a 7-6 (5) second.
The Captains will next play both on the road and at home next weekend, traveling to Salisbury University on Saturday, April 1 for a 3:00 pm match before returning home to play in a 1:30 bout at home against Lynchburg.
