SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Embry-

Riddle men's tennis team suffered its first loss of the season, falling to NCAA Division II No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic State 8-1 on Sunday. The Eagles, ranked third in the NAIA, is now 4-1 on the year, while the Pirates move to 6-0.

AASU got it first doubles point and the top spot where the top-ranked team of Rafael Array and Mikk Irdoja downed Patrick Besch and Jan Hoekzema 8-3. At the third doubles spot ERAU's Adrian Bayh and Simon Felix were serving for the match, but the eighth-ranked tandem of Edualdo Bonet and Daniel Regan fought back for a 9-7 win.

The Embry-Riddle tandem of Chris Freeman and Peter Francis battled to a tie (8-8) against No. 20 Matus Mydla and Pedro Scocuglia, but in the end, it was the Pirate pair that grabbed the win with a 7-5 decision in the tie-breaker.

The matches at the top two singles positions were both close matches. At the top spot, fourth-ranked Irdoja held off a strong challenge from Freeman 7-6 (7-5) in the first set before taking the match with a 6-2 win in the second. As No. 2 singles, Besch took second-ranked Bonet to 7-5 in the first set before falling 6-1 in the second.

The Eagles sole point of the day came at the fifth spot where 13th-ranked Felix bested No. 21 Regan in three sets. Felix won the first set 6-4 but dropped the second 7-5. The ERAU freshman rebounded to dispatch Regan 10-2 in the third.

"We learned a lot from this match,” ERAU Head Coach Dave Paschal said. “Both doubles were serving to close out the matches, but we now see the energy we need to bring to each practice and match.”

The Eagles will play the first of a 13-game home stand at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday when they host NCAA II No. 10 at the Crotty Tennis Complex.