EAST GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T men's tennis is not only capturing wins; they are earning recognition from the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) for those wins. 

Two weeks after Ian Pedersen and Mathieu Dussaubat became the first players to win a CAA weekly honor when they were named men's doubles team of the week, Esteban Lopez became the first Aggie to win a weekly honor as an individual when the conference named him men's singles player of the week on Tuesday. 

"Esteban and I have been working tirelessly for this moment," said A&T head coach Dejon Bivens. "I told him his best level is in front of him after some tough losses earlier this season. But it shows his character and commitment to the vision. He trusts me, and he trusts the process. He continued to go to the gym late nights and stayed extra for training after class. 

Just for this moment, I am happy to see that his dedication to hard work gets him the reward and relief he was looking for." 

Lopez won twice at No. 1 singles last week. First, Lopez beat UNC Asheville's Sam Nicholson 7-5, 6-4 to help the Aggies clinch a 4-3 win over the Bulldogs on March 23. Three days later, he scored a 6-4, 7-5 win over UNC Greensboro's John Gabelic to lead the Aggies to a 6-1 victory, which gave A&T its first win over the Spartans in modern history.

His doubles match against UNCA went unfinished, but he partnered with graduate Vasil Ivanov to beat UNCG's Gabelic and David Filsberg 6-1. Lopez is 5-3 on the season after winning three of his last four singles matches. He is 4-3 in doubles play. Ivanov has been his doubles partner in six of those matches. 

"Hopefully, this motivates him and the rest of the team to keep working hard and not worry about winning and losing. Just enjoy the process." 

The Aggies play Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday this week. They play at Belmont Abbey at 3 p.m., against Delaware at Elon University at 4 p.m., and return home to the Dudley High School Tennis Courts to play North Carolina Central at 2 p.m.