NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The nationally-ranked CNU men's tennis team celebrated Senior Day on Saturday afternoon with a pair of dominant victories. The Captains improved to 11-7 overall this season with a 7-0 shutout over Randolph College (12-5) and a 6-1 win against Salisbury University (9-5). 

In the morning matchup, the Captains won two of three doubles bouts to capture a 1-0 lead before sweeping all six singles matches. Nathan Russell, Rainer Christiansen, and Gabe Smith each captured a pair of wins against the WildCats. The afternoon tilt against Salisbury saw CNU sweep a hard-fought set of doubles matches before winning five of six in singles. Barrett Foster, Christiansen, Smith, and Sam Halvorsen each won in both singles and doubles in the victory. 

First up, the Captains rolled against Randolph with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Halvorsen and Smith paired up at No. 2 to defeat Jason Duval and Aksel Tinnes-Rimehau, 6-2. At No. 3, Christiansen and Russell took down Tom Laflamme and Lukas Rathgeb, 6-3. 

In singles action, the Captains surrendered no more than five games in five of the six matchups. On the top line, senior Vincent Truong earned a 6-2, 6-2 win against regionally-ranked Jacob Martin. The other two active seniors, Barrett Foster and Alex Seretis, also picked up wins in their singles matches against the WildCats. Foster downed Tinnes-Rimehau in a 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 final and Seretis won at No. 6 against Rathgeb 6-3, 6-2. Nesh Kumaresan rounded out the Senior class and was inactive due to an injury after piling up 26 career singles and 49 career doubles wins. 

Rounding out the first win of the day, Russell won at No. 2 (6-2, 6-3), Christiansen at No. 4 (6-0, 6-1), and Smith at No. 5 (6-0, 6-1). 

Salisbury and Christopher Newport paired off in a couple of thrilling doubles matches. At No. 1, Foster and Seretis capped a successful senior day with a 7-6 (7-3) win at No. 1 doubles against Gurv Suri and Aron Bursztyn. In the bout at No. 2, Smith and Halvorsen paired up for a 7-6 (7-5) win against Nicholas O'Dea and Bobby Stabile. The Captains rounded out a doubles sweep for the team point when Christiansen and Russell earned a 6-1 win over Maas Jacobs and Chase Catullo. 

In singles, Foster downed Suri at No. 1 with a 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory. Christiansen closed out a perfect 4-0 record on the day with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles and Smith also finished 4-0 when he closed out a 6-4, 7-5 win against Jacobs at No. 3. 

Rookie Jamison Wallace stepped in for a win at No. 5 against Bursztyn when he outlasted his Salisbury counterpart for a 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6) win. Rounding out the win was Halvorsen at No. 6, capturing a 6-4, 6-3 win. 

CNU closed out the regular season with an 11-7 overall record. The Captains will return to action at the 2026 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament next weekend. Final seeding will be announced on Monday, April 27 with the semifinal round set for 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 1 with the championship/consolation slated for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 2.