GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T women's tennis team had to play undermanned all year. However, that was not the case on Sunday afternoon at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center. The Aggies played with six players and, as a result, earned their first shutout win of the season with a 7-0 victory over Norfolk State. 

Freshman Isabela Romanichen made her season debut to bring the Aggies to full strength. Thus for the first time this season, the Aggies did not have to default a doubles or singles match. But ironically, the Norfolk State Spartans were not at full strength. 

Romanichen is still waiting to play her first singles match of the season as her opponent had to retire. However, Romanichen did get to compete in doubles on Sunday. She teamed with freshman Lana Caculovic to beat NSU's duo of Alek Evdokimova and Laura Ruiz 6-0. The A&T doubles team of freshman Nuria Sanz and Cielo Tapia-Cruz did lose to Zada McMorris and Breana Cook 7-5 to even the double series. 

But in a turn of fate, the Spartans had to default at No. 3 doubles to give the Aggies the doubles point. It was all A&T from there. Two other singles matches ended with NSU needing to retire as Tapia-Cruz won on retirement at No. 2 singles, and Sanz won the same way at No. 3 singles, clinching the win for A&T. 

Freshman Nour Gueblaoui at No. 5 singles and Asima Sazan at No. 6 singles easily won. Gueblaoui won 6-0, 6-0 over McMorris and Sazan won 6-1, 6-1 over Niya Grant. A&T's most formidable challenge happened at No. 1 singles between Caculovic and Evdokimova. 

Caculovic lost the first set 7-6 in a tiebreaker. Caculovic returned strong with a 6-0 win in the second set before winning 10-5 in a super tiebreaker. The win improves A&T 4-4 on the season, ending a three-match losing streak. Sanz remained undefeated in singles play at 7-0. Caculovic improved to 6-1 on the season. 

A&T returns to action on Tuesday, March 21, with a 1 p.m. home match at the Dudley High School Tennis Courts against former Big South Conference rival Longwood.