Rocky Mount, NC - The No. 24-ranked N.C. Wesleyan men's tennis team continued its impressive stretch, defeating its second straight ranked opponent with a 4-3 victory over No. 21 Christopher Newport on Sunday afternoon at the Indoor Sports and Education Facility.

The Battling Bishops (4-2) secured the win with a strong showing in singles play after dropping two of three doubles matches. The Captains (6-3) took an early lead by earning the doubles point, but Wesleyan responded with clutch performances in singles to complete the comeback.

The Basics:
Score: #24 N.C. Wesleyan 4, #21 Christopher Newport 3
Location/Venue: Rocky Mount, NC / Indoor Sports and Education Facility
Records: #24 N.C. Wesleyan (4-2, 0-0 USA South), #21 Christopher Newport (6-3, 0-0 C2C).

Doubles Recap

The Bishops struck first in doubles as the duo of Luca Knese and Albert Sitwell dominated at No. 1 with a 6-3 win. However, Christopher Newport answered with victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, clinching the opening point and taking a 1-0 match lead.

Singles Recap

Wesleyan quickly turned the tide in singles, led by a dominant performance from Knese, who cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 2 to put the Bishops on the board. Bohdan Zhylchuk followed with an equally impressive 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 3, giving NCWU a 2-1 advantage.

After the Captains momentarily evened the match with a win at No. 1, the Bishops responded as Shori Nishizoe pulled out a gritty three-set victory at No. 4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Sitwell then sealed the match at No. 5, edging out a hard-fought 7-6 (7), 7-5 win to secure the fourth and decisive point for Wesleyan.

Up Next:
NCWU will travel to California to take on #3 Tufts Tuesday which begins a stretch of at least five straight top twenty opponents in the golden state.