NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Men's Tennis postseason awards were announced on Friday afternoon with seven Christopher Newport Captains earning selection in the All-Conference honors. Five Captains earned All-Conference recognition in both singles and doubles including a pair of CNU players, Barrett Foster and Nathan Russell, securing first team recognition in both disciplines. 

In each of their first years wearing the Royal Blue and Silver, Foster and Russell each were named first team All-C2C in singles and doubles. Foster, a graduate transfer from Hampden-Sydney College, played across five different positions in singles play while Russell, a true freshman from Jacksonville, Florida was the starter on the top two lines for 19 of the 20 matches this Spring. 

In addition to the newcomers, sophomore Rainer Christiansen earned first team doubles and second team singles plaudits, sophomore Gabe Smith earned first team singles and second team doubles, and senior Vincent Truong was a first team doubles and second team singles selection. Finally, senior Nesh Kumaresan was a second team doubles pick and rookie Ivan Ceric earned second team honors in singles to round out the group of seven. 

Foster was a reliable and flexible option for the Captains with starts in 18 of 20 matches across lines 1-5. He picked up a win in the lone match he played on the top line and added nine wins in duals from 3-5. He ranked fourth on the team in singles wins with 12 victories and was third in dual wins with 10. 

He was joined in a first team All-C2C doubles pick with playing partner Vincent Truong. The duo was 11-12 overall and 9-8 in No. 1 doubles matches. For Truong, it marks his third straight year earning All-Conference honors in both singland doubles while collecting his seventh all-time certificate. After securing C2C Doubles Team of the Year in 2025, Truong adds his third straight first team All-C2C certificate in doubles. Truong played all 13 of his dual appearances in singles at No. 1 or No. 2, picking up five wins. He closes out his career with 47 singles wins and 57 wins in pairs play; the 57 doubles wins ranks fifth all-time at CNU. 

Nathan Russell joins Foster as the only Captain to secure first team honors in both singles and doubles this season. The freshman ranked second on the team in singles wins with 14 overall and won four matches each at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. In doubles, Russell paired with three different partners to finish the year with 16 wins in pairs play. His longest-tenured partner, Rainer Christiansen, joined him as a first team All-C2C Doubles pick while playing primarily at No. 3. The duo finished the year 14-4 overall including a 13-2 record in dual action. At No. 3, Christiansen and Russell paired up for a 12-2 record including four straight to end the season. 

Christiansen led the Captains in total wins this season including a 16-10 overall record in singles. His 12 dual victories came across five levels from 2-6. In two seasons, Christiansen has piled up 29 singles wins. 

The last doubles team to earn recognition for Christopher Newport was second-team pick Gabe Smith and Nesh Kumaresan. Smith, the 2025 C2C Rookie of the Year, won 19 wins in doubles as a freshman and added 16 more in his second year with four different playing partners. With Kumaresan, Smith was 8-4 in dual action while playing primarily at No. 2. The senior, Kumaresan, finished out his career with 49 career doubles victories despite missing the end of his senior year with an injury to close out his tenure just outside the top-ten all-timei at CNU. 

Smith added a first team All-Conference certificate in singles after tying for second on the squad in wins with 14. He also played across five lines from 2-6 while posting an 8-2 record at No. 5 and 6 combined. He closed out the year with four straight wins including a victory in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship match. 

Finally, rookie Ivan Ceric closed out the annual recognition for CNU men's tennis with a second team All-Conference nod in singles. The freshman from Ashburn, Va. won seven matches in his first year with six coming in duals this Spring.  He was 1-1 at No. 4, 0-1 at No. 5, and 5-3 at No. 6. 

Christopher Newport is ranked No. 27 in the most recent ITA Collegiate National Rankings and No. 7 in the regional rankings.  The Captains were 12-8 overall this season and secured the 600th win in program history. 

2025-26 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Men's Tennis All-Conference Awards

C2C Player of the Year: Asher Willenborg, Mary Washington
C2C Doubles Team of the Year: Trevor Rein/Asher Willenborg, Mary Washington
C2C Rookie of the Year: Ryan Gipner, Mary Washington
C2C Scholar-Athlete of the Year: John Billinis, JWU Charlotte
C2C Coaching Staff of the Year: Todd Helbling, Mary Washington
 

2026 All-C2C First Team Singles
NAME	YR.	POS.	TEAM	HOMETOWN	PREVIOUS ALL-C2C HONORS
Asher Willenborg	Jr.	1st	Mary Washington	Fork, Md.	POY & 1st in '25
Ben Wang	Jr.	1st	UC Santa Cruz	Ventura, Calif.	1st in '25, 1st in '24
Trevor Rein	Jr.	2nd	Mary Washington	Scottsdale, Ariz.	1st in '25, ROY & 2nd in '24
Nathan Russell	Fr.	2nd	Christopher Newport	Jacksonville, Fla.
Barrett Foster	Sr.	3rd	Christopher Newport	Virginia Beach, Va.
Ryan Gipner	Fr.	4th	Mary Washington	Wake Forest, N.C.
Gabe Smith	So.	5th	Christopher Newport	Culpeper, Va.	ROY & 2nd in '25
Cooper Lehman	Fr.	6th	Mary Washington	Lancaster, Pa.
2026 All-C2C Second Team Singles
NAME	YR.	POS.	TEAM	HOMETOWN	PREVIOUS ALL-C2C HONORS
Vincent Truong	Sr.	1st	Christopher Newport	Fairfax, Va.	DPOY & 1st in '25, POY & 1st in '24, ROY & 2nd in '23
Gavin Sonntag	Jr.	2nd	UC Santa Cruz	Folsom, Calif.
Jack Riordan	Jr.	3rd	Mary Washington	Lynchburg, Va.	2nd in '25
Rainer Christiansen	So.	4th	Christopher Newport	Yorktown, Va.
Bobby Stabile	So.	4th	Salisbury	East Quogue, N.Y.
Ryan Battaglia	Fr.	5th	Mary Washington	Annandale, Va.
Aron Bursztyn	Sr.	5th	Salisbury	South Setauket, N.Y.	2nd in '25
Ivan Ceric	Fr.	6th	Christopher Newport	Ashburn, Va.
2026 All-C2C First Team Doubles
NAME	YR.	POS.	TEAM	HOMETOWN	PREVIOUS ALL-C2C HONORS
Asher Willenborg	Jr.	1st	Mary Washington	Fork, Md.	POY & 1st in '25
Trevor Rein	Jr.		Mary Washington	Scottsdale, Ariz.	1st in '25, ROY & 2nd in '24
Barrett Foster	Sr.	1st	Christopher Newport	Virginia Beach, Va.
Vincent Truong	Sr.		Christopher Newport	Fairfax, Va.	DPOY & 1st in '25, POY & 1st in '24, ROY & 2nd in '23
Evan Fisher	Jr.	2nd	Mary Washington	Richmond, Va.
Jack Riordan	Jr.		Mary Washington	Lynchburg, Va.	2nd in '25
Nathan Russell	Fr.	3rd	Christopher Newport	Jacksonville, Fla.
Rainer Christiansen	So.		Christopher Newport	Yorktown, Va.
2026 All-C2C Second Team Doubles
NAME	YR.	POS.	TEAM	HOMETOWN	PREVIOUS ALL-C2C HONORS
Gabe Smith	So.	2nd	Christopher Newport	Culpeper, Va.	ROY & 2nd in '25
Nesh Kumaresan	Sr.		Christopher Newport	Aldie, Va.	1st in '25, 1st & 2nd in '24, 1st in '23
Nick O'Dea	So.	2nd	Salisbury	Bellevue Hill, Australia
Bobby Stabile	So.		Salisbury	East Quogue, N.Y.
Ryan Gipner	Fr.	3rd	Mary Washington	Wake Forest, N.C.
Will Fromherz	So.		Mary Washington	Annapolis, Md.