Box Score ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. -- Continuing to prove the Captains are amongst the best teams in the country, the Christopher Newport men's tennis team suffered a narrow 4-3 loss to No. 24 North Carolina Wesleyan (4-2) on Sunday afternoon. Finishing with a one-point decision in the fifth-straight match, all coming against nationally-ranked competition, the Captains fall to 6-3 overall this season despite the hard-fought effort on the road. 

The Captains were playing for the first time in nearly two weeks after their Spring Break finale at No. 19 Redlands was cancelled. The last time CNU took the courts was on Tuesday, March 4 against No. 32 Chapman in California, falling by the same score, 4-3. 

Still, CNU secured wins in two doubles matches and two singles bouts on Sunday while being led by senior captain Edvard Porsmyr Hansen with a pair of wins. Vincent Truong also captured a win over a nationally-ranked opponent in singles play for the Captains. 

The Captains opened the scoring with the doubles point, winning at 2 and 3 to secure the key victory in pairs play. Porsmyr Hansen and Gabe Smith played together at No. 2 and squeaked out a 7-5 decision against Shori Nishizoe and Logan Stoltz. As a duo, Porsmyr Hansen and Smith are now 8-1 this Spring including a perfect 3-0 run at No. 2. That win, coupled with a decisive 6-3 victory at No. 3 for Rainer Christiansen and Alex Seretis, helped CNU secure a 1-0 lead in the match. 

The Battling Bishops responded with the first two wins in singles play, earning victories at 2 and 3. Porsmyr Hansen then evened the match at 2-all when he defeated Stoltz at No. 6 singles, 6-3, 6-2. He secured his team-leading 12th win of the season and his first victory on the sixth line. It was also his 56th career singles victory, moving him up to 8th at CNU by matching Justin Cerny (2015-18) on the all-time chart. 

Then came a monumental win for junior Vincent Truong at No. 1 as he toppled No. 26 Diego Segovia for his first win over a ranked opponent in three matches this Spring. It is just the second lost in 2024-25 for Segovia to a Division III foe with the last coming in the semifinals of the ITA Regional Championships in the Fall. On Sunday, Truong won the first set, 6-3, before Segovia rebounded with a 6-1 win in the second set. In the third set tiebreaker, Truong edged out his opponent on his home court for a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 final. 

The win came after N.C. Wesleyan had taken a 3-2 lead with the win at No. 5. With Truong tying the match up again, the team outcome rested on the shoulders of rookie Gabe Smith and the Culpeper, Va. native battled to the very end for his team. Unfortunately, Nishizoe outlasted Smith in the third-set tiebreaker for a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win to clinch the match for the Bishops .

Christopher Newport will play their first home matches in over a month next week when they welcome No. 28 Wesleyan University for a Thursday afternoon tilt at 3:00 p.m. CNU will also take on No. 16 Kenyon at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 22 before facing Hendrix College at 6:00 p.m.