GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T men's tennis team made quick work of its Gate City brethren on Friday with a 7-0 win over the Guilford College Quakers at the Piedmont Indoor Center. After losing its first match of the season this week, the Aggies got back to their winning ways, improving to 14-1 on the season. The Quakers dropped to 6-8 on the season.
The No. 1 A&T duo of Vasil Ivanov and Esteban Lopez defeated Andres Mercedes and Tye Sasser 8-3. But Lopez did not play in his usual No. 1 position in singles play. Instead, it was Ivanov playing at No. 1. Ivanov defeated Mercedes 6-1, 6-1. It was his ninth career match as the Aggies No. 1 singles player, where he is now 3-6. Ivanov improved to 12-1 on the season and 45-26 in his career, putting him five singles wins shy of 50.
"It was a great effort from our team today, starting from the doubles and transitioning into singles," said Ivanov. "I am happy with the result and the energy everyone played with. We must keep this mindset and focus on the next match."
The Aggies took the doubles point with Alex Martinez and Eder Blanco defeating Drake Schreiber and Rishi Halukurike 8-1 at No. 2 doubles. The win broke a two-match losing streak for the tandem as they improved to 8-6 on the season. Martinez also won at No. 5 singles, 6-0, 6-0, over Emmanuel Oye. Martinez improved to 12-2 on the season.
Blanco also won during singles play from the No. 3 position. Blanco improved to 12-2 overall and 2-0 at No. 3 singles with a 6-1, 6-1 straight-set win over Sasser.
"I played aggressively, not giving my opponent a chance, and I gave him the respect he deserves," said Blanco. "I'm really happy with today's performance and ready for the next matches."
A&T swept doubles with Ian Pedersen and Ethan Baly's 8-3 win over Rylan Tuten and Evan Wong, 8-3 at No. 3 doubles. When called upon, Baly has only lost once this season. He won at No. 4 singles on Friday, 6-0, 6-0, over Dominik Pocnja. He is 3-0 in singles and 2-1 in doubles action. He is 2-0 when teaming with Pedersen.
Meanwhile, Pedersen played at No. 2 singles for the first time this season as he defeated Schreiber 6-0, 6-0.
"I was working on a few things that I think went well, and my serve was on point," said Pedersen. "In doubles, we played a good match, a little sloppy at the beginning, but we finished strong."
A&T continues to build toward the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men's Tennis Championship Tournament, April 27-30, at Mackesy Tennis Courts in Williamsburg, Va. The Aggies are scheduled to play The Citadel Sunday at 1 p.m. in Sumter, SC. They have three additional regular-season matches remaining before the tournament.
