NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In a nationally-ranked battle between Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference women's tennis programs, the No. 33 Christopher Newport Captains suffered a 6-3 loss to No. 30 Mary Washington on Thursday afternoon. CNU falls to 3-10 overall while the Eagles are now 6-7 on the season. 

The match featured four regionally-ranked singles players and a pair of regionally-ranked doubles tandems. In the ranked battle in doubles at No. 1, it was the Eagles that pulled away for an 8-4 win. The two singles bouts that featured regionally-ranked showdowns were split by the teams as Mary Washington won at No. 1 and Christopher Newport picked up the point at No. 2. 

CNU earned the first point of the day when Kiersten Chang and Mia Linam rolled past Abby Moghtader and Rebecca Stepleman on the second line of pairs play. The CNU duo won the match, 8-3, but it would be the lone doubles point for the Captains as Mary Washington responded with wins at both No. 3 and No. 1. 

Trailing 2-1 heading into singles action, the Captains were unable to even the match before the visitors clinched with wins at 4, 5 and 6. CNU rallied for victories in two of the three remaining singles matchups, though, as Linam made it a two-win day and Tessa Trate earned a hard-fought win over a regionally-ranked opponent. 

First, Linam played Hana Kimmey at No. 3 and finished off her Eagles opponent by a final score of 6-1, 2-6, 6-1. At No. 2, Trate was facing the 17th-ranked singles player in the Atlantic South, Amanda Hagino, and earned a quick first-set win, 6-1. Hagino rebounded for a 6-4 win in the second, but Trate flexed on her home court for a 6-3 win in the final set. 

The challenging homestand continues for Christopher Newport women's tnenis as they will next face Division I Norfolk State University on Friday, April 14 at 9:00 a.m.