BALTIMORE, Md. -- Taking on another top-ten opponent in the 8th-ranked Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (12-5), the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's tennis team battled hard before suffering a narrow 4-3 setback on the road. The Captains fell to 9-7 and were led by rookie Nathan Russell and sophomore Gabe Smith, each with a pair of wins against the highly-ranked foe. 

The Captains took a 1-0 lead after doubles by picking up victories at No. 2 and No. 3. In singles action, Hopkins rallied back with four wins, including the clinching point at No. 6. CNU added wins at No. 2 and No. 4 for the final verdict, 4-3. 

In doubles action, Russell secured the first win of the day with a 6-3 victory playing with partner Rainer Christiansen. The CNU tandem took down Dylan Blenkiron and Brian Yi at No. 3 but the Blue Jays answered right back with the win at No. 1 behind their nationally-ranked duo. The doubles point would come down to the match at No. 2, where Sam Halvorsen and Gabe Smith faced Mukundh Boopathi and Pranav Gadiraju. The back-and-forth battle went to a tiebreaker where the CNU pair outlasted the hosts for a 7-6 victory. 

Moving into singles play, Hopkins quickly blitzed out to a 3-1 lead with wins at No.1, 5, and 3. Russell put the Captains back in the win column at No. 2 where Russell defeated Chakor Rajendra. The CNU freshman captured the win, 6-4, 7-6, to pull the Captains back within one. 

The comeback was thwarted when Ivan Ceric was edged out at No. 6 in three sets. Joshua Kim clinched the match for Johns Hopkins, but the final battle went in favor of the Captains. Smith took down Jason Li at No. 4 in a 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 final. 

CNU falls to 9-7 overall with two matches left on the regular season calendar. The Captains will close out the year on Saturday, April 25 against Randolph at Noon and Salisbury at 4:00 p.m.