ATHENS, Ga. – The North Carolina A&T men's tennis team lost to the Georgia Bulldogs, the 28th-ranked team in the International Tennis Association (ITA) poll, 5-1 on Saturday. But in defeat, the Aggies received a huge confidence boost and a superior morale lifter for the program when at No. 3 singles, sophomore Said Akbarov defeated Filipe Costa 6-3, 6-4.
It capped off an outstanding week for Akbarov, who won No. 3 singles on Wednesday against Montreat before winning No. 3 singles on Thursday against UNC Greensboro. On Friday against a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) opponent from Hampton, Akbarov also won at No. 3. But it was his win on Saturday that made his Aggie teammates proud.
"Absolutely happy about Said's performance today," said sophomore teammate Lucas Coupo-Moison. "He deserves it."
Coupo-Moison's sentiment echoes throughout the team after a historic win over an opponent from a Power Four conference like the SEC. Akbarov has now won five straight singles matches, giving him a team-high 14 singles wins and a 14-2 record. The two teams did not play any doubles matches on Saturday.
"The match was really tough because I needed to win every point on my own," said Akbarov. "My opponent was staying in and wasn't giving points away. I was bombing my serve with my forehand today. Big win for me and my school against a Power Four school."
A&T head coach Dejon Bivens commented that he was proud of how his team competed against a ranked opponent in a tough home-advantage atmosphere at the University of Georgia.
"Our mission was to take it to them, and on a few of the courts, we did just that and even managed to grab a historic and career-defining win for Bash (Akbarov)," said Bivens.
Saturday marks the second time an Aggie has defeated an opponent from a ranked team this season. Earlier this season, senior Ian Pedersen defeated an opponent from No. 1 Wake Forest. Pedersen defeated the No. 65 men's collegiate tennis player, Ioannis Xilas, on March 16. Pedersen was not as fortunate on Saturday at No. 2 singles, losing to Gabriele Vulpitta 6-0, 6-1.
"I was feeling good during the warmup, but during the match, I was rushing and playing too fast," said Pedersen. "I didn't take a moment to realize what was going on, and I lost the match."
Coupo-Moison lost to UGA's Niels Ratiu 6-2, 6-1, to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Coupo-Moison dropped to 9-6 on the season and 5-3 at the No. 1 position. His tennis game and mentality were ready for the difficult matchup, but Coupo-Moison called his opponent more consistent than him. "I missed some opportunities to hold my serve and stay longer in the match," said Coupo-Moison.
UGA's third win came at No. 5 singles. Freddy Blaydes defeated freshman Jindrich Brill 6-1, 6-1 before Parker Jacques won at No. 6 singles over junior Mathieu Dussaubat, 6-3, 6-0. Akbarov's incredible win came next before the match ended with a two-set thriller at No. 4 singles. Sophomore Kaua Santos lost the first set 6-1 before Cyrus Mahjoob defeated Santos 7-6, 7-0 in the tiebreaker.
"Santos showed some incredible fight back and grabbed set points to push that match to the distance," said Bivens. "He woke up in Georgia, and it was fun to watch."
The Aggies dropped to 13-4 this season and will get a huge break from competition. A&T does not return to action until Wednesday, April 9 against another CAA opponent, the Campbell Fighting Camels. The first serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Buies Creek, NC.
"It is my mission to continue to bring out the best in my players and show the nation and our conference that A&T will be seen and felt," said Bivens. "I hope our alumni are proud of the guys because they are giving it their all while continuing to make historic strides for A&T tennis."
