NEWPORT NEWS, VA- Christopher Newport's men's tennis team was represented well in the final 2010 rankings recently released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

After going 14-9 and finishing second in the USA South conference regular season and tournament, the Captains ended in a tie for 30th -- the final spot in the elite list -- with Brandeis.

CNU completed its season at No. 29 but was passed by Texas-Tyler, which rose from out of the top 30 to No. 22. That stemmed from Tyler's NCAA tournament victory over Mary Washington, the highest-ranked team CNU defeated. Mary Washington, the Capital Athletic Conference champion, finished at No. 23.

The only USA South squad above CNU, North Carolina Wesleyan, ended with the No. 9 national ranking despite making the tournament quarterfinals.

In the Atlantic South Region, one of four groupings in the country, the Captains finished No. 8.

In singles, CNU sophomore Eric Shulman completed the year at No. 19 nationally and No. 4 in the region.

Shulman was the USA South Player of the Year, and he was the only man to win a set off of eventual champion John Watts from Washington University of St. Louis in the NCAA singles tournament.

In his NCAA debut, Shulman played Watts to 6-0, 0-6, 6-3 in the first round of the tournament at Oberlin in Ohio. Watts won his last four matches in straight sets.

Gian Heyer, playing his first full year with the Captains, finished at No. 13 in the Atlantic South Region, barely missing the 50-man national rankings. He started the winter-spring dual season at the No. 4 spot but moved up to where he became a consistent winner at No. 2.

In the fall 2010 Atlantic South Regional at Mary Washington, one of several such high-caliber events around the nation, Shulman well could be the No. 1 seed, while Heyer could check in at around No. 6.

For more, see this website:

http://www.itatennis.com/AwardsAndRa...s_Rankings.htm