CARY, N.C. – The North Carolina A&T men's tennis team had to wait to play as rain poured throughout the Bull City on Friday. The Aggies then had to move to the Cary Tennis Park indoor facility because of the inclement weather. Once everything got resolved, and the Aggies started play at 7 p.m., they took care of the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Eagles 4-2, improving to 10-1 on the season.
The Aggies took control early with a win at No. 1 doubles by graduate Esteban Lopez and freshman Lucas Coupo-Moison. The Aggies No. 1 duo defeated Kareem Abdul Hakim and Oliver Saarinen 6-2. However, NCCU evened the doubles series with a win at No. 2 doubles. NCCU's Leo Fortier and Hugo Hidalgo defeated junior Ian Pedersen and freshman Said Akbarov 6-4. Pedersen said he and Akbarov had opportunities in the match but failed to take them.
"We didn't play our game today," said Akbarov. We kind of woke up late when we were down 4-2. After that, he was just all about all the lost opportunities."
NCCU took the doubles point with an exciting matchup at No. 3 doubles. The A&T combination of sophomore Mathieu Dussaubat and freshman Kaua Santos lost a tough one to Naresh Bharathy and Neiman Sneed 7-6, 7-4 in the tiebreaker.
Santos quickly bounced back in singles play with a win at No. 5 singles over Shaka Cristellotti 6-0, 6-2 to tie the match at 1-1. Akbarov gave the Aggies the lead with a Fortier 6-1, 7-5. Santos said Cristellotti started to play better against him in the second. But officials called Cristellotti for a game penalty with the second set tied at 5-5.
Santos eventually broke Cristellotti's serve to improve to 10-1 on the season. Coupo-Moison added to his wonderful day by winning at No. 2 singles after being victorious at No. 1 doubles. He defeated Abdul Hakim 6-3, 6-4 for his eighth win of the season.
"We took care of business coming back with a win against a really good team," said Coupo-Moison after the Aggies lost their first match of the season at Wake Forest last week. He also discussed his singles match.
"It was a tough match against a crafty player," said Coupo-Moison. I came on the court with energy and intensity. I proved that the team could count on me. I was very confident about my game and put a lot of pressure on him."
A&T jumped out to a 3-1 lead after Akbarov won at No. 3 singles over Fortier, 6-1, 7-5. But NCCU got back into the match with a key win at No. 1 singles versus one of the best A&T men's players of all time. Hidalgo beat Lopez 6-3, 6-4. Lopez lost for the first time this season to drop to 9-1 on the season and 40-25 for his career.
There was no need to worry, however. Junior Ethan Baly came on the scene to clinch the win for the Aggies. Baly, having a career season, improved to 9-0 on the season with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Sneed. Pedersen did not get a chance to finish his match because Baly won before he could. Pedersen lost the first set to Bharathy 6-4 before bouncing back to win the second 6-4. Pedersen led 2-0 in the third before the match concluded early.
The Aggies are back in action on Saturday, March 23, when they will play twice on the same day. They will start at Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) foe Campbell with a noon contest at Nesbit Tennis Center. A&T will follow that match with a short trip to Fayetteville, N.C., to face Methodist University at the Gene Clayton Tennis Courts.
