LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Christopher Newport men's tennis team suffered it's first loss of the season on Sunday afternoon in the first match of the Captains' inaugural spring break trip to California. CNU fell at Occidental College, 8-1, in the first of four matches to be played in the Golden State over the next week. 

Continuing his strong start to the dual season, junior Matthew Dubuque picked up the lone victory for Christopher Newport in Sunday's match. Dubuque is now 4-1 this Spring with a team-leading seven overall wins this year. He earned the victory at No. 5 singles after surrendering just a single game in each of his two sets. Dubuque took on Brett Miller on the No. 5 line and pulled away for a 6-1, 6-1 lead. 

Despite the final score, the Captains battled against the talented Oxy squad and the momentum of the match tilted in favor of the home team after a pair of narrow setbacks in doubles action. Both at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, the Captains forced a tiebreaker, but Occidental slipped past the CNU tandems for a 3-0 sweep in pairs play. 

In No. 1 doubles, Ryan Macy and Alec Strause were edged out by Matthew O'Connor and Sam Coan by a final score of 8-7 (2) and the same score doomed Dubuque and Eddy Porsmyr Hansen at No. 3 against Brett Miller and Zach Haas. 

In singles play, the close play continued including at No. 4 where newcomer Ahun Vodela forced a tiebreaker. After giving up the first set 6-1, he outdueled Coan for a 7-6 (6) win in the second set. The two then went back-and-forth before Coan captured an 11-9 finishing blow. 

Strause, at No. 2, and Porsymyr Hansen, at No. 3, each forced their opponent to win a seventh game in one of their sets. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Monday at 2:00 pm to take on California Lutheran University (0-2).