SALISBURY, Md. -- Christopher Newport's men's tennis squad came from behind to win three individual matches but fell 6-3 to Salisbury University, the 21st-ranked team in NCAA Division III, on a windy, cool Sunday.

Gian Heyer was the only Captain to win both of his matches, and Eric Shulman boosted his drive toward qualifying for the national singles tournament.

CNU fell to 6-7 with its third loss in a row, all to national top-25 squads.

Salisbury began Sunday with a 7-4 mark and finished it at 10-4 -- the Sea Gulls played their regular starters against the Captains, but employed many reserves as they won against Hood and Stevenson in the Capital Athletic Conference.

An exciting 90 minutes of CNU-Salisbury doubles ended with plenty of drama and the Sea Gulls holding a 2-1 lead.

Daniel Barnas and Andrew Nottage put Salisbury ahead with an 8-2 victory at No. 2. But on the other courts, the eventual winners came from behind and saved match points to prevail.

At No. 1 doubles, SU's Scott Burtzlaff and Evan Thomas trailed 4-1 and 7-5, and CNU's Shulman and Dusty Nelson held a match point while serving at 7-6. But the Gulls recovered to force a tiebreaker and won it 7-3, putting them ahead 2-0.

Burtzlaff and Thomas are third in the South Atlantic Region, while Shulman and Nelson are 10th.

At the No. 3 spot, Heyer and Kyle Tobin -- playing their first match together -- overcame a 4-1 deficit to go ahead 7-6, 40-15, with Tobin serving. But Salisbury's Marcus Robinson and David Lupinetti saved two match points to break and stay in contention. The set went to a tiebreaker at 8-all.

Trailing 6-2 and facing four match points, Heyer and Tobin won the next six for an 8-6 tiebreaker victory that cut the Gulls' team margin to 2-1.

Ironically, Tobin said he didn't realize the tiebreaker was over at 8-6 -- he thought it was to 10.

In singles, the Captains were trying to overcome the absence of Garrett Widing, a regular starter who is out indefinitely with mononucleosis.

The Gulls mastered the wind better and gained early leads on most courts. Wins by Giorgio Athans at 6 and Barnas at 4 put them ahead 4-1.

Shulman overcame a 5-2 deficit to gain a 7-5, 6-0 victory against Burtzlaff -- a significant triumph toward national qualifying since the CNU sophomore is ranked fifth in the South Atlantic Region and Burtzlaff seventh.

It briefly appeared that the Captains, down 4-2 in team competition, might be able to pull a reversal. But Nottage, using big left-handed power, clinched Salisbury's victory with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Nelson at 5.

At No. 3, Thomas edged Martin Brown 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) for Salisbury's sixth point.

Heyer -- ranked 17th in the region and looking to move up -- lifted his game and completed the day with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 No. 2 victory over the feisty Lupinetti.

The Captains will return to action Tuesday at home at 3 p.m. against the defending USA South regular-season and tournament champion, North Carolina Wesleyan. The Bishops, who feature an all-international top six, are ranked 11th in the nation.

Tuesday's winner likely will be the top seed in the conference tournament, whose victor will gain an automatic national bid.

SALISBURY 6, CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT 3
Doubles
1. Scott Burtzlaff-Evan Thomas (SU) d. Dusty Nelson-Eric Shulman 9-8 (7-3).
2. Daniel Barnas-Andrew Nottage (SU) d. Martin Brown-Lorenzo Sison 8-2.
3. Gian Heyer-Kyle Tobin (CNU) d. David Lupinetti- Marcus Robinson 9-8 (7-6).

Singles
1. Shulman (CNU) d. Burtzlaff 7-5, 6-0.
2. Heyer (CNU) d. Lupinetti 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.
3. Thomas (SU) d. Brown 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).
4. Barnas (SU) d. Sison 6-3, 7-5.
5. Nottage (SU) d. Nelson 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
6. Giorgio Athans (SU) d. Tobin 6-3, 6-4.

Records
CNU 6-7, Salisbury 10-4.