NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport men's tennis team will open the 2026 campaign as the preseason favorites in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference in a preseason coaches poll released on Friday. The defending champion Captains edged out Mary Washington by one point in the poll with 15 points and three first-place votes while the Eagles collected the two remaining first-place votes and finished with 14 total points in the poll.
In addition to the preseason poll being released on Friday, head coach
Eric Christiansen also announced the postponement of this weekend's scrimmage against Longwood University. The Captains were meant to play the Division I opponent in an exhibition at the James River Country Club on Saturday, but freezing temperatures forced a shift in the originally scheduled matchup. No rescheduled date has been announced.
In the C2C Men's Tennis Preseason Poll, the Captains and Eagles were followed in order by UC Santa Cruz (9 pts), Salisbury (8 pts), and Johnson & Wales (NC) (4 pts).
CNU will start the 2026 spring season ranked No. 24 in the nation while being led by senior
Vincent Truong. Ranked No. 19 in the Atlantic South Regional Singles Rankings, Truong is the 2024 Conference Player of the Year and a five-time All-Conference selection.
As a team, the Captains won 32 singles matches in tournament action this fall while being led by rookies
Nathan Russell and
Jamison Wallace with six wins apiece. The defending conference champions closed out the 2025 season with 13-8 overall record.
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2026 C2C Men's Tennis Preseason Poll
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Rank
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Team
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Points (1st)
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1
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Christopher Newport
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15 (3)
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2
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Mary Washington
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14 (2)
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3
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UC Santa Cruz
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9
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4
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Salisbury
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8
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5
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JWU Charlotte
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4
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