GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T men's tennis lost a key piece, but there is still enough there for the Aggies to continue their recent string of success. They showed evidence of that on Saturday during their season opener, including a doubleheader against Lenoir-Rhyne and later against Belmont Abbey College.
The Aggies won both contests 7-0 at Piedmont Indoor Center. The biggest name returning is Esteban Lopez. Lopez ended last season with 31 career wins. After Friday, he now has a 33-23 career record. Against Lenoir Rhyne, the Aggies No. 1 singles player defeated Zachary Cox, 6-1, 6-4. After years of partnering with the program's all-time leader in singles wins, Vasil Ivanov, Lopez had a new doubles partner on Friday as Lopez and Lucas Coupo-Moison defeated the Bears duo of Rufus Plane and Vadym Rogynskyi 6-3.
"It was my first time playing with Lucas, but we played really well and took care of the lead," said Lopez. "Against Lenoir Rhyne, I played the same guy I played last year. Last year, I beat him easily, but this year, he played much better. We went toe-to-toe mainly in the second set."
Coupo-Moison said he went into the doubles match with Lopez with some nerves as he made his Aggies spring debut. But the more experienced Lopez helped him survive the jitters. He handled his nervousness much better in singles play, he said, as he defeated Nevio Dux, 6-2, 6-2.
Another key returner for A&T is junior Ian Pedersen. After going 14-3 as mainly the Aggies No. 5 singles player a season ago, Pedersen opened 2024 as the Aggies No. 3 singles player, defeating Plane 6-0, 6-2. He teamed with Said Akbarov at No. 2 doubles play to beat Cox and Mattias Selde 6-1.
Kauã Santos also debuted for A&T, defeating Rogynskyi 6-4, 6-1. Santos and Matthieu Dussabaut, another returner to the Aggies lineup, triumphed over Connor Donley and Dux at No. 3 doubles as the Aggies claimed the doubles point on Friday.
A&T's other two singles victories came from Akbarov and veteran standout Ethan Baly. Akbarov battled Donley at No. 5 singles and emerged victorious with a 6-4, 6-4 win. Baly opened his 2024 season by defeating Raphael Champaud 6-3, 6-1.
Against Belmont Abbey, Lopez defeated Jonas Berglund 6-3, 6-4 before teaming with Coupo-Moison again at No. 1 doubles to defeat Joshua Mayhew and Berglund 6-1. Coupo-Moison followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Mayhew at No. 2 singles.
"In the second match, I was feeling good on the court," said Coupo-Moison. "The pressure was not as present as in the previous matches. I felt really good on the court. It is nice to see that hard work pays off. We have been practicing well, and seeing the team going in the right direction is enjoyable."
More joy came to Pedersen versus Belmont Abbey as he took down Brody Sawyer 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3 singles. Earlier in the match, he and Akbarov got their second win of the day by beating Julian Gonzalez and Matthew Orozco, 6-1. Pedersen said he started the day a little nervous but became more relaxed as the day progressed.
"I made some mistakes during the day, but in the important moments, I played well," said Pedersen.
Santos had another excellent showing at No. 4 singles with his 6-1, 6-3 win over Orozco. Akbarov improved to 2-0 on the season with a 6-0, 6-2 win against Tyler Troche at No. 5 singles. Baly also won for the second time on Friday with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Peyton Williams. A&T completed the doubles sweep as Dussaubat and Santos defeated Williams and Sawyer 6-1.
"It was my first time playing with Kauã, and we played really well overall," said Dussabaut. "We had a really good energy, and we did what we practiced, so we did great. I'm really happy about the team's performance. We have to keep playing and practicing hard."
A&T men's tennis returns to action on Thursday, February 22, as the Aggies face King University at 2 p.m. in Greensboro.
