NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Christopher Newport women's tennis closed out the 2024-25 with a celebratory shutout over Randolph College (9-5) on Friday evening as the Captains lone senior,
Raine Weis, completed her regular season playing career on Senior Night. The accomplished veteran capped the evening with a thrilling win over a regionally-ranked opponent in singles to blank the WildCats, 7-0.
Christopher Newport improved to 11-7 overall this season and will now focus on postseason action including the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship being played on the Eyre Courts in two weeks.
Prior to the match, the Captains gathered to honor Weis in a special ceremony for Senior Day. With her legendary career nearing conclusion, the Ashland, Va. native has climbed to eighth on the all-time singles victories chart (53) and fourth in wins at No. 1 singles (34). In doubles play, Weis added her 64th career win including her 49th career victory on the top line -- she ranks second all-time in doubles wins and third in victories at No. 1.
On Friday, Weis and her opponent, Lena Kersten, entertained fans with the most competitive matchup of the outing. In the first set, she held off Randolph's top player, 6-4, but Kersten rebounded to take a big lead early in the second. Weis battled back but could not complete the second set comeback and dropped a 7-5 set. In the tiebreaker, a captivated crowd watched on as Weis attempted to earn a Senior Day sweep.
The two players went back and forth through the first half of the tiebreaker before an unforced error into the net made it 8-6 in favor of the home team. With the extra breathing room, Weis tightened the stranglehold with a tremendous rally. After a pair of exceptional recovery shots deep off the line, she played a lob long to the end line to settle her feet and prepare for another return. After the duo went back-and-forth a handful of shots, a wicked forehand forced Kersten into a long return. With match point, Weis conceded one more point before clinching the 2-0 day in her final home regular season match, 10-7, in the third.
Before the dramatic finish, Weis helped CNU clinch the doubles point with a 3-0 performance in pairs play. She paired with
Kylie Schaefer for a 6-2 win at No. 1 against Kersten and Lize van Veen. At No. 2,
Kendal Chang and
Samantha Robertson played together for a 6-1 win and at No. 3, it was
Erin Gross and
Eva Taylor earning a 6-0 win for the Captains.
CNU quickly clinched the team match with the first three singles victories. Gross picked up a shutout win at No. 6 against Sabrina Dickerson (6-0, 6-0), Robertson downed Maddie Mills (6-1, 6-0) at No. 5, and Schaefer clinched the match with a win at No. 2 against Fleur Gaalman (6-1, 6-1). CNU cruised through singles with two more wins before Weis' thriller -- Chang defeated van Veen (6-0, 6-2) at No. 3 and Taylor capped a perfect day with a win over Emma Bauer at No. 4 (6-0, 6-0).
Christopher Newport will host the 2025 C2C Championships on May 3-4. Semifinals will be played on Friday, May 3 with the third-place and championship matches scheduled for Saturday, May 4. Seeding will be officially released on April 28 with match times scheduled for 10:00 am on both days.
