GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T men's tennis has not lost a singles match all season. The Aggies did lose a doubles match for the first time in 2024, but no matter. A&T still came away with a 7-0 win over USC Sumter Friday afternoon at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center.
A&T improved to 4-0 on the season, winning all four matches 7-0. The doubles match the Aggies lost on Friday came after the Aggies had already clinched the doubles point by winning at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
The tandem of junior Ian Pedersen and freshman Said Akbarov defeated Stanley Long and Jakub Sevcik 6-1. That was followed by a doubles win from Kaua Santos and Mathieu Dussabaunt over Lachlan Carroll and Kossi Andre Dogbefu 6-2, securing the doubles point. "We played a good match from the beginning to the end, doing what we practiced and taking advantage of opportunities," said Pedersen.
Graduate Esteban Lopez and freshman Lucas Coupo-Moison dropped the Aggies' first match of the season – singles or doubles – with a heartbreaking 7-6 tiebreaker loss to Kalle Johansson and Gian Rojas Rodriguez.
"We didn't play our best tennis," said Coupo-Moison. "We missed some opportunities, but we showed good energy and fought back against a tough team."
Lopez rebounded in singles play to defeat Rodriguez 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. He improved to 4-0 on the season and 35-23 in his career. Akbarov won for the fourth straight time, defeating Johansson 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 singles to give the Aggies a 3-0 advantage.
Pedersen clinched the win for A&T with his victory at No. 3 singles. Pedersen is 4-0 in singles play with his 6-1, 6-2 win over Dogbefu. During the match, Pedersen worked on some aspects of his game that could have gone better in the Aggies' last match versus King University.
Play continued with Coupo-Moison winning at No. 2 singles over Stanley Long. He made quick work of Long with a 6-3, 6-1 win. Coupo-Moison said he entered the match less nervous than in his previous three matches as an Aggie. Junior Ethan Baly took care of business at No. 6 singles with a straight-set, 6-0, 6-1 win over Nicolas Checa Torres. Santos had A&T's final victory of the day, defeating Sevcik 6-2, 6-3.
"I enjoyed playing with my teammates today," said Coupo-Moison. "They showed good energy on every court. Hearing them made me feel even better on the court. It pushed me to the next level."
A&T returns to action at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center with a 1 p.m. contest against Shaw University.
