NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Taking on the fifth-ranked Cardinals of Wesleyan University (5-1) to kick off a busy weekend of tennis in Newport News, the 17th-ranked Captains dropped a 7-0 decision at the James T. and Sarah C. Eyre Courts. CNU earned the win at No. 1 doubles and got a valiant effort from senior Raine Weis at No. 1 singles as she took on the nation's top-ranked player. 

Weis paired with Kylie Schaefer for the lone win of the afternoon for Christopher Newport on Wednesday afternoon as the top tandem won the final two games in their match against Lane Durkin and Sarah Youngberg. Schaefer and Weis were deadlocked at 5-all when the home team won two straight to earn a 7-5 victory and improve to 6-3 as a pairing this year. The duo is now 4-1 over the last five matches. 

The Cardinals used the nationally-ranked pairing of Jackie Soloveychik and Natalia Leroy to earn a 6-2 win at No. 2 and also captured the win at No. 3 to secure the doubles point. Wesleyan would then go on to secure the first three wins in singles to clinch the match. 

Despite the team score being decided, the Captains continued to battle on the top two lines with Schaefer and Weis facing top-tier competition. At No. 2, Schaefer earned a first-set victory against Lane Durkin before falling to her counterpart by a final score of 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. At No. 1, a heavyweight bout was set between Weis, ranked 41st in the most recent Division III singles rankings, and Soloveychik, who came into the match as the top-ranked singles player in the country. 

The Wesleyan sophomore was crowned the ITA Cup Singles National Champion this fall and vaulted to the top of the ITA Singles Rankings. She captured a 6-2 win over Weis in the first set but on her home court, the CNU senior answered back with a 6-2 win of her own in the second set. The third-set tiebreaker was a back-and-forth scene with both players trading blows. In the end, Soloveychik did just enough to hold off the Captains' top-line player in extra points, 11-9. It marks the first loss of the season for Weis in dual play, ending a seven-match winning streak. 

Christopher Newport continues the schedule on Friday, March 21 as the team will host No. 15 Case Western Reserve at 1:00 p.m. The Captains will also welcome in No. 37 Hope College on Saturday, March 22 at 2:00 p.m. and No. 7 Washington and Lee University on Sunday, March 23 at 12:00 p.m.