PRO TENNIS
Two U.S. Open players with Hampton Roads connections — quite different ones — lost Sunday on the Grandstand court in the round of 32 at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Old Dominion graduate Yuliia Starodubtseva hoped for an encore of her French Open upset of Elena Rybakina, but the No. 2 seed beat her 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.
Starodubtseva, a 26-year-old from Ukraine who was a two-time Conference USA Player of the Year, earned one set point with a 6-5 lead in the tiebreaker. But the Moscow-born Rybakina, who now represents Kazakhstan, served a perfect ace to the backhand corner and then won the following two points after they changed sides of the court.
Just before that, Michael Zheng, who was born in Chesapeake but grew up in New Jersey after his family moved when he was 2, lost a thriller to France’s 21-year-old Arthur Gea.
Zheng, 22, a two-time NCAA singles champion who graduated from Columbia and is ranked 107th in the world during his nascent pro career, fell 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to 87th-ranked Gea.
COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER
Shutout gives W&M first CAA triumph
William & Mary (2-2-1, 1-0-1) captured its first Coastal Athletic Association victory of the season, beating the College of Charleston 2-0 at Martin Family Stadium. The Cougars dropped to 2-1-1, 1-1-0.
Brown Huffard scored from a Sullivan Carter assist in the 49th minute, and Harris Beckham converted a penalty kick in the 63rd.
Diego Garciarena made five saves for the Tribe in a match in which both teams were credited with 15 shots.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
W&M outplays reigning SoCon power
William & Mary (2-3) defeated 2025 Southern Conference regular-season champ East Tennessee State 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-21) at the VCU Invitational.
Teagan Pocius led the Tribe with 10 kills. Cate Hatfield had 26 assists and eight digs, and Avery Horejsi posted a team-high 13 digs.
Marlins improve record to 3-0
Hannah Smith had 23 kills and 15 digs as Batten defeated Wisconsin-La Crosse 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 26-24) at the Marlin Invitational. Also for Batten, Anna Moody had 10 kills and Brenna Raymond had 17 digs.
The Marlins (3-0) have won all three of their matches in straight sets.
No. 19 CNU falls to No. 7 UW-Eau Claire
Wisconsin-Eau Claire, ranked seventh in Division III, beat No. 19 Christopher Newport 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-20), dropping CNU to 2-2 at its season-opening Captains Classic at Freeman Center.
Jasmine Williams and Avery Hanly each had five kills for CNU, while Fielding Croft had 28 assists. Hanly and Maddie Hanes had 11 digs each. Rachel Johnson had 14 kills and three aces for Eau Claire.
COLLEGE FIELD HOCKEY
No. 4 CNU dominates No. 3 Babson
Christopher Newport (2-0), ranked fourth in NCAA Division III, registered a 6-1 victory at No. 3 Babson (1-1), near Boston.
Two goals by Caroline Hughlett gave the Captains a 3-0 lead. Ellie Nuckols, Calli Martin, Isabel Tamayo also scored, and Courtney Hughlett’s penalty stroke closed the game for CNU, which outshot Babson 22-7.
COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY
W&M sweeps Spider Alumni Open titles
William & Mary, in Adam Smith’s first meet as head coach, won the men’s and women’s team trophies at the Spider Alumni Open at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville.
The Tribe men edged Georgetown 33-34 atop the 14-team field. Norfolk State (65) was third, Christopher Newport (256) eighth and Hampton (309) 11th.
NSU freshman Clinton Kipruto won the 6-kilometer race in 18 minutes, 5.5 seconds, while W&M’s Hayes Trapp was second among 118 runners at 18:19.0.
Among women, W&M (56), Georgetown (71), Richmond (73) and James Madison (106) comprised the top four. CNU (173) was sixth, Hampton (196) seventh and Norfolk State (341) 12th among 16 squads.
Hampton’s Peninah Mutisya won the 4K, 146-runner race in 13:55.4, while the Tribe’s Molly Weithman was the runner-up in 14:00.4.