GREENSBORO – The significant wins keep piling up for the North Carolina A&T men's tennis program during the 2023 season. What is even better about those wins in 2023 is that there have been no losses in 2023. The Aggies improved to 8-0 on Saturday with a 6-1 win over UNC Greensboro at the UNCG Tennis Courts. 

Saturday's win is significant because it is the first against UNCG in modern history, establishing the Aggies as another strong Division I men's tennis program within Greensboro. It also furthers the best start in contemporary history for A&T. 

Sunday's doubles point came down to No. 3 doubles. The pairing of Ian Pedersen and Mathieu Dussaubat has been productive for the Aggies all season. But the duo started slowly against the UNCG combination of Wyatt Cannon and Devon Moskowitz. After missing some easy shots, Pedersen and Dussaubat trailed 4-2. 

But they played much better as their volley game improved. A&T's No. 3 duo, therefore, rallied to win 7-5 to put the Aggies ahead 1-0 as their win was aided by the Aggies win at No. 1 doubles, with Vasil Ivanov and Esteban Lopez winning 6-1 against David Filsberg and John Gabelic. A&T's Eder Blanco and Alex Martinez lost at No. 2 doubles to Christopher Johns and Tymofiy Khrystyuk. 

While the doubles came down to the wire, the singles belonged almost solely to A&T. A&T's excellent showing in singles started at No. 4 when Martinez received some redemption from his doubles loss by defeating Johns in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. 

"I came in very intense and didn't let up," said Martinez. "I stayed on top of the guy from start to finish, dominating with my forehand and putting my opponent in positions where he had to come up with some crazy shots." 

No. 3 singles saw Vasil Ivanov win for the 38th time in an Aggies uniform as he defeated Filsberg 6-3, 6-4. The Aggies secured the win at No. 1 singles when Lopez defeated Gabelic 6-4, 7-5. After trailing 5-3 in the second, he broke Gabelic's serve to win for the third time in four matches, improving his record to 5-3.  

"I played well. I was hitting my shots and making good decisions," said Lopez. "I was getting the most of my points from my forehand and serve and being brave." 

After clinching the win, the Aggies endured their only singles loss of the day, a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 defeat by Blanco to Khrystyuk at No. 2 singles. However, Blanco said he was overall happy with his effort, crediting Khrystyuk with hitting some big shots on crucial points. 

But A&T finished strong. Mathieu beat Andrew Black 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8) at No. 6 singles. Pedersen remained undefeated in singles by improving to 8-0 with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win over Moskowitz. It was challenging for Pedersen to remain unbeaten. He made some errors in the first set before losing to Moskowitz in the second. In the third set, he lost the first game. 

"After that, I knew I had to pick up my level to close the match," Pedersen said. "I started to play more consistently and won the set without complication." 

Martinez added: "I'm very happy for the whole team, especially Mathieu. He needed that win. We really wanted this one." 

A&T was scheduled to play North Carolina State later in the afternoon, but N.C. State postponed the match. A&T will focus on Belmont Abbey College as they travel to Belmont, NC, to play Wednesday at 3 p.m.