NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The 29th-ranked Washington and Lee men's tennis team suffered a 6-3 setback at 25th-ranked Christopher Newport on Saturday afternoon.
 
The doubles points were tightly-contested early on before the Captains (1-0) pulled away to assume a 3-0 lead.  At No. 1 doubles, the team of first-year Eli Hirshberg (Alpharetta, Ga./Johns Creek) and senior T.J. Rudden (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes) took on Ryan Macy and Alec Strause, who finished last season ranked 15th nationally.  The Generals' (0-1) duo was down just 5-4 before Macy and Strause seized control late in the match for an 8-4 win.

The team of junior Evan Brady (Glen Head, N.Y./Chaminade) and sophomore Connor Coleman (Birmingham, Ala./Briarwood Christian) played a tight match with Eddy Porsmyr Hansen and Matthew Dubuque at No. 3 doubles, but dropped an 8-6 decision.
 
In singles action, first-year Evan Erb (St. Louis, Mo./MICDS) claimed a big win at the No. 1 position, knocking off Strause, who is the 19th-ranked singles player in the Atlantic South Region.  The final score was 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8).
 
The Captains took matches at No. 2, 3 and 4 singles, but the Generals recovered to take the No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches.  First-year Will Kistler (Hilton Head, S.C./Laurel Springs School) defeated Dawson Driscoll, 6-0, 6-1 at No, 5, and Brady bested Mason Kolls at No. 6, 6-2, 6-4.
 
Washington and Lee will be back in action next Saturday when it travels to 21st-ranked Denison for a 1:30 pm match.