FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Taking on a top-20 foe in Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference foe Mary Washington on the road, the 37th-ranked Christopher Newport men's tennis team suffered a narrow loss, 5-4, on Friday afternoon. The Captains (8-4) won four matches in singles play to nearly come all the way back for the win after falling behind, 3-0, after doubles.
The matchup featured a razors thin margin in all nine of the head-to-head bouts. With the victory in the balance, five of the nine went to tiebreakers as each of the regional powers vied for the advantage as Christopher Newport rallied.
Mary Washington took an early lead, 3-0, after doubles play despite a valiant effort for the Captains. The closest match came at No. 2 where
Ashton Legum and
Edvard Porsmyr Hansen forced a tiebreaker against Evan Fisher and Artis Hart. The two teams battled back-and-forth throughout until the home team squeaked out an 8-7 (9-7) over the CNU pair.
The Captains were in each of the matches at No. 1 and No. 3 before Mary Washington finished out the doubles sweep with 8-4 and 8-5 victories, respectively.
Despite the tough start, the CNU men rebounded in singles action with a thrilling overall performance. At No. 1,
Vincent Truong dropped the first set in a tiebreaker against regionally-ranked Rishi Charan Shankar. The Captains' second-year star then rallied for a 7-5 win to stave off the loss in the second set and held off the hosts top player for a 6-7 (2-7), 7-5, 6-4 victory. It was his first career win over a regionally-ranked opponent after Charan Shankar was pegged No. 8 in the Atlantic region earlier this week.
The Captains also picked up a three-set win at No. 3 where sophomore
Nesh Kumaresan defeated Artis Hart by a final score of 6-2, 1-6, 7-5. Legum took down Peter Leese at No. 5, including a first-set tiebreaker in a 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 6-4 win. Finally,
Alex Seretis picked up a hard-fought win at No. 6 against Evan Fisher, winning 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5.
The match was clinched for the Eagles with wins at No. 2 and No. 4. At No. 2,
Edvard Porsmyr Hansen won the first set before Brock Ladehoff captured a narrow win (4-6, 6-1, 6-2). At No. 4,
Ryan Monroe stretched Trevor Rein to a first-set tiebreaker before suffering a tough loss, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
With the win at No. 1, Truong improved to 9-1 this Spring including a perfect 3-0 start on the top line. The two-time defending C2C Player of the Week ranks second on the team with 11 singles wins overall this Spring.
Christopher Newport will look to bounce back next weekend with three matches on the road. CNU will take on Washington (Md.), Swarthmore, and Johns Hopkins on three straight days starting at 4:00 p.m. against the Shoremen on Friday, April 12.
