Women's Tennis | 3/12/2025 8:39:00 PM
Box Score
GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T women's team lost its second match as the Norfolk State Spartans escaped with a 5-2 win over the Aggies Tuesday afternoon at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center. The Aggies dropped to 5-2 on the season.
After losing to 24th-ranked Clemson on Sunday, the Aggies finally got a chance to play at home in front of the fans, even though they found themselves in an early deficit after the Spartans secured the doubles point.
The Spartans clinched the doubles point early at the No. 1 position. Sofiya Tsitavets and Irina Lurea defeated A&T's No. 1 freshmen duo, Dorsa Cheraghi and Juana Weiss Gomez, 6-0. That gave the Spartans the point because the Aggies had to forfeit at No. 3 doubles.
For good measure, the Norfolk State duo of Yuliya Yurkova and Caroline Nicholls defeated junior Hana El Sherif and sophomore Randy Rakotoarilala 6-2. The doubles point and the Spartans receiving a point for the Aggies having to default at No. 6 singles gave Norfolk State a sizeable advantage over the next five singles competitions.
But the Aggies did not concede anything. They opened singles play with a win at No. 4 singles with Gomez Weiss defeating Sabrina Lurea 6-3, 6-2. The Spartans took a 3-1 lead when Tsitavets beat Cheraghi 6-1, 6-2.
Norfolk State clinched the win at No. 2 singles. Yurkova earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over Rakotoarilala. The Spartans' lead grew to 5-1 when Caroline Nicholls defeated El Sherif 7-6 (4), 6-1 at the No. 3 spot.
There was some good news for A&T at No. 5 singles. After her upset win over Clemson on Sunday, freshman Flavia Villegas remains undefeated after a 6-7, 6-3, 10-8 win over Irina Lurea.
"I was excited to compete at home today," said El Sherif. "I think I played all right, but there's always room to improve. I'm looking forward to the next matches and continuing to get better."
The Aggies' next match is Thursday at 2 p.m. against LIU at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center.
