CLEMSON, SC – North Carolina A&T women's tennis is no longer undefeated, thanks to a 5-1 loss to Clemson University at Duckworth Tennis Facility. That is not to say the Aggies failed to come away with winning a battle against the 24th-ranked Tigers.

Freshman Flavia Villegas recorded the most significant win of her young career when she defeated Clemson's Kinsey Crawford, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0, with an 11-9 win in the tiebreaker. With the win Villegas improved to 6-0 on the season, with all six wins coming at the No. 5 singles position.

"The match was a battle from start to finish," Villegas said. "I started off slow, but I knew I just had to stay composed and make adjustments."

In the second set, Villegas focused on being patient and smarter in her approach. It led to her second-set win, which set up a super tiebreaker.

"It was intense," said Villegas.

Villegas said she stayed aggressive and trusted her game. The two ladies went back and forth until Villegas finally closed it out after taking a 10-9 lead and taking advantage of the serve. The win showed how much Villegas has grown during her short time at A&T.

"(Head coach Ansel Bivens) has always believed in me, and we've worked hard to get better every day," said Villegas. "His support and our training paid off in this match, and I'm proud of how I fought until the end."

The Villegas/Crawford matchup was the final one of the evening. The match started with the Aggies losing to Clemson's No. 1 doubles team of Amelie Smejkalova and Gaia Parravicini defeated the A&T duo of Dorsa Cheraghi and Juana Gomez Weiss 6-0.

Cheraghi and Gomez Weiss dropped to 4-2 as a duo during the 2025 season. At No. 2 doubles, sophomore Randy Rokotoarilala and junior Hana El Sherif lost to Sophia Hatton and Annabelle Davis, 6-3 to secure the doubles point for Clemson.

Clemson took a 2-0 lead when Parravicini defeated Weiss Gomez 6-1, 6-0. A win at No. 2 singles followed that Tiger win. Davis defeated Rokotoarilala 6-2, 6-1. It was Rokotoarilala's first loss of the season, dropping her to 5-1. The Tigers clinched the win with a win at No. 3 singles.

Romana Cisovska defeated El Sherif 6-1, 6-1. The other Clemson win came at No. 1 singles when Smejkalova defeated Cheraghi 6-1, 6-3.

The Aggies will return to action on Wednesday for their home opener as they face Norfolk State at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center at 1 p.m.