GREENSBORO – When the North Carolina A&T women's tennis gets its sixth player in the lineup, look out because the five players who participate now have an amazing amount of fight. On Tuesday, the Aggies dropped a 4-3 decision to the Morgan State Bears at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center. 

It marked the third time a match ended in a 4-3 decision for the Aggies (3-3) this season. It is incredibly the first time they have lost a 4-3 match this season. That is remarkable because the Aggies have started singles play down 2-0 in every match because they have had to default at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. 

On Tuesday, however, the Aggies would have lost the doubles point without the No. 3 default. Freshmen Lana Caculovic and Nour Gueblaoui lost to Asmara Rose and Hannah Smith 6-2 at No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Cielo Tapia-Cruz and freshman Nuria Sanz lost to Ana-Lei Kalawe and Lauryn Hall 7-5. 

The Aggies bounced back with a win, however, at No. 2 singles as Tapia-Cruz defeated Kalawe 6-2, 6-0. Tapia-Cruz improved to 4-2 in singles play on the season. But the Bears put themselves on the brink of victory when Hall defeated Gueblaoui at No. 4 singles, 6-3, 6-2. 

"My match was so tight with a lot of long points and tough points," said Gueblaoui. "I wanted to win so bad today, but after coming back from injury, that's what I was able to give. I gave everything I had out there and fought until the last point, but my opponent was better today. 

I'm proud of my teammates for fighting and winning their matches. I'll keep giving 100 percent and showing up to bring my team more wins."

A&T did keep fighting as Caculovic won at No. 1 singles over Smith 6-4, 6-0. Then, Sanz tied the match at 3 with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Rose at No. 3 singles. 

"It was a tough match," said Sanz. "I had my bad moments, but with the help of the coaches and my mentality, I figured it out and won. My singles wasn't enough for us to win the game as a team, and that's hard. We're working and fighting as a team, and we'll keep trying."

The deciding match did come down to a grueling No. 5 singles matchup between Asima Sazan and Mogan's Stefania Moysiadi. Sazan played well but lost to Moysiadi 7-6, 7-6 (4-0 in the tiebreaker).

"Today was a real battle," said Tapia-Cruz. "I'm happy because I won my match, but at the same time, I'm sad because we lost as a team. So it's kind of difficult, but we are always looking forward to the next match."