NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Senior captain
Edvard Porsmyr Hansen and rookie
Gabe Smith each went 4-0 on the day to help lead the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's tennis team to a pair of season-opening shutout victories on Saturday evening. The Captains (2-0) downed Virginia Wesleyan (0-3) and Hampden-Sydney (0-1) at the James River Country Club Indoor Courts to open the spring season.
Porsmyr Hansen and Smith paired up for a pair of wins at No. 2 doubles to help CNU clinch the doubles point in both matches. Against the Marlins, Porsmyr Hansen played at No. 3 singles and earned a straight-set win against Sebastien Muller (6-1, 6-2); then, he bumped up to No. 2 in the nightcap against the Tigers and did not surrender a game against Dillon McReynolds (6-0, 6-0).
Smith had a stellar collegiate dual debut with wins at No. 4 in both matches. First, he captured a 6-1, 6-4 win against Francis Cabaddu and he added a 6-1, 6-3 win versus Emerson Rice in the second match of the day. In doubles play, the duo won 6-2 against Virginia Wesleyan and 6-4 against Hampden-Sydney.
CNU swept the doubles matches against the Marlins to get out to a 1-0 lead.
Ashton Legum and
Vincent Truong defeated Hovo Madanyan and Muller on the top line, 6-4, and
Rainer Christiansen paired with
Alex Seretis for a 6-2 win at No. 3 against Alen Curovic and Tudor Vlad. Moving into singles play, Legum outlasted Vlad in two set tiebreakers to win on the top line 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6).
Ryan Monroe clinched the win with a 7-6, 6-7, 10-7 win in the super breaker. Also earning wins against Virginia Wesleyan was Christiansen at No. 5, taking down Carlos Rullan Zarraga (6-2, 6-3) and Seretis at No. 6 against Sainandan Challagundla (7-6, 6-4).
In a late-night matchup against Hampden-Sydney, the Captains won two of three doubles bouts to earn the point. After the win at No. 2, the Captains clinched the point when Christiansen and
Ahun Vodela paired up for a 6-4 win at No. 3.
In singles, the 2024 C2C Player of the Year
Vincent Truong captured his first win of 2025 when he downed Barrett Foster in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Rounding out the singles sweep, Christiansen played at No. 3, earning a 6-1, 7-6 victory against Thomas Davis; Vodela defeated Henry Singleton at No. 5 (6-2, 7-5), and;
Sam Halvorsen took down Jonathan Fogle at No. 6 (6-2, 1-6, 11-9).
The Captains will return to action next weekend against Rhodes College (Feb 14) and Shenandoah University (Feb 15). Match time against the Lynx is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
