MONTREAT, NC – North Carolina A&T men's tennis put a 'W' back in the win's column on Wednesday after taking eight days off from competition. It seemed to help. The refreshed Aggies defeated the Montreat Cavaliers 7-0 at Cornwall Tennis Center thanks to two three-set wins in singles play.
The Aggies ended a two-match losing streak, improving to 12-2 overall ahead of their Thursday matchup at home against UNC Greensboro at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center at 2 p.m.
A&T took a 1-0 lead by winning two of three from the Cavaliers to clinch the doubles point, starting with a dominant performance at No. 1 doubles for senior Ian Pedersen and sophomore Said Akbarov. The duo improved to 8-2 this season by defeating Danel Diez and Bruno Casimir Gehlhar 6-0. Montreat won at No. 3 doubles.
The Cavaliers used the duo of Jorge Cebria and Ibai Lopez to defeat sophomore Kaua Santos and junior Mathieu Dussaubat 6-4, but freshman Jindrich Brill and sophomore Lucas Coupo-Moison beat Youssef Idboufous and Daniel G. Estrabot 6-3 at No. 2 doubles to clinch the point in the best of three competition.
In singles play, Akbarov took to No. 3 singles and defeated Cebria 6-3, 6-2. Akbarov improved to 4-0 at No. 3 singles and 11-2 overall. The Aggies grabbed another point at No.4 singles when Santos defeated Gehlhar 6-2, 6-0. Dussaubat also won in straight sets with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Diez at No. 6 singles.
Coupo-Moison also looked solid at No. 1 singles. He defeated Idboufous 6-2, 6-2, improving to 8-5 this season. As the Aggies No. 1 player, Coupo-Moison is 4-2. With victory in hand, the Aggies showed fortitude by winning some three-setters to gain momentum going into their next match. Brill said he had a tough battle at the No. 5 position. However, he found his forehand and serve, earning a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Estrabot.
Pedersen finished off the Cavaliers with a thrilling three-setter against Lopez at the No. 2 position. Pedersen won the first set 7-6, 7-2 in the tiebreaker before Lopez evened things by winning the second set 6-3. Pedersen earned his 47th career win by taking the third set 6-4. Pedersen is 6-0 at No. 2 singles this season.
After Thursday's matchup against the Spartans, the Aggies will welcome Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and fellow HBCU Hampton to the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center for a 2 p.m. matchup on Friday.
