NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- CNU senior
Raine Weis picked up wins at No. 1 singles and doubles, but the Christopher Newport women's tennis team suffered a 6-1 loss to Johns Hopkins on Saturday afternoon, falling to 1-1 on the season. The Captains close out the fall portion of their schedule and will return to action in February.
Taking on the Blue Jays, who reached the NCAA National Quarterfinals a year ago, the Captains put together an impressive overall performance including winning multiple games in all but one singles match.
In just their second match facing the new adjusted scoring rules, the Captains won one of the three doubles matches and fell behind 1-0. In the new ITA scoring format for 2024-25, the Division III duals will be played under the same scoring rules as Division I; doubles will be played for a single point with the team winning the majority of matches earning that point.
On Saturday,
Raine Weis and
Kylie Schaefer took on a formidable foe at No. 1 doubles as they faced ITA Regional Champions Kamila Wong and Ava Li. The duo recently qualified for the ITA Cup with a win of the championship draw at the ITA Southeast Doubles Championship in Fredericksburg, but on Saturday, it was the Captains that would come out the victor. Weis and Schaefer looked impressive together, pulling away for a dominant 6-2 win against the Hopkins tandem.
In the other two doubles bouts, CNU fell 6-1, where
Kendal Chang and
Samantha Robertson lost at No. 2 and
Lindsey Bergelin paired with
Eva Taylor for the setback at No. 3.
In singles action, the Blue Jays clinched the match with the next three points. Robertson battled at No. 5 against Sydney Langer before falling (6-3, 6-3) and rookie
Kendal Chang also secured at least three games in both sets at No. 4 against Lia Melvin in a loss (6-3, 6-4). At No. 2,
Mia Linam stretched Ava Li all the way to a seventh game in the first set before ultimately falling in a 7-5, 6-2 final.
At No. 1, Weis took on Jay Xiao in a battle fitting of the matchup. Storming back in the first set, Weis trailed early but rallied for a 7-5 win. Then, in the second set, the CNU veteran again pulled out a narrow 7-5 win to secure the team point for the Captains.
Christopher Newport will carry its 1-1 overall record into the Spring where they will open the second semester on February 15 against Trinity (Texas).
