NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Ending a string of six straight matches decided by one point, the 21st-ranked Christopher Newport men's tennis team split a pair of matches at the Eyre Courts on Saturday evening by matching 5-2 scores. First, the Captains suffered a 5-2 setback to No. 16 Kenyon College (10-1) before dropping Hendrix College (4-6) by the same score.
The Captains improved to 8-4 this season with the split after playing their seventh nationally-ranked opponent through the first 12 matches.
In the opener against Kenyon, CNU got a doubles win at No. 3 from
Gabe Smith and
Edvard Porsmyr Hansen, 6-3. It kicked off a three-win day for Porsmyr Hansen who also won at No. 3 singles and doubles against Hendrix.
After Kenyon secured the doubles point, the Captains were able to pick off two team points with wins at No. 4 and No. 5 singles.
Ashton Legum downed Juozas Cioladis by a final score of 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4 and
Rainer Christiansen earned a hard-fought 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win at No. 5 against Eric Zhang.
The Captains narrowly pulled within one at No. 6 where rookie
Gabe Smith stretched his foe, Rakkan Audeh, to a first-set tiebreaker before falling by a final score of 7-6 (10-8), 6-3.
Looking to bounce back, Christopher Newport got right back to work against Hendrix in the nightcap. Cruising to a lead, the Captains rolled to a doubles sweep.
Vincent Truong paired with Legum for a 6-2 win at No. 1;
Nesh Kumaresan and Christiansen paired up for a 6-0 shutout at No. 2, and;
Alex Seretis played with Porsmyr Hansen at No. 3 for a 6-2 win.
The Warriors evened the match at one point apiece when Truong was forced to retire on the top line, but CNU quickly disposed of Hendrix with the next four wins.
Sam Halvorsen started things off with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Matias Ancieta at No. 6 and Porsmyr Hansen closed out his strong day with a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 3 versus Cason Cole.
Clinching the match at No. 5 was
Ahun Vodela who appeared for a 6-1, 6-3 win against Santiago Perez. Shortly after, Seretis capped his two-win performance with a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 4.
The weekend is over for the Captains, while the nationally-ranked battles continue in Newport News as Kenyon and Wesleyan will face off on Sunday, March 23. Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday, March 29 at 1:00 p.m. as they welcome Mary Washington.
