SALISBURY, NC – The wait for North Carolina A&T's resilient women's tennis program finally came to an end on Tuesday, when, after two postponements, the Aggies took court at the Livingstone Tennis Courts and defeated the Livingston Blue Bears 7-0.
The Aggies' season-opening win comes after a successful fall that included victories over Gate City rival UNC Greensboro and Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) opponents UNC Wilmington and Campbell. Tuesday became a fresh start for the program, which will finally get to compete at full strength after seasons of a limited roster, leading to forfeited matches due to injury.
There were no such worries on Tuesday. The Aggies not only had enough players for three doubles matches. They won all of them, starting with the No.1 doubles team of sophomores Juana Gomez Weiss and Flavia Villegas defeated Moncia Castaldo and Ashley Cook 6-0. The No. 3 doubles team of sophomore Dorsa Cheraghi and senior Hana El Sherif clinched the doubles point for A&T with a 6-0 win over Airya Johnson and Aaliyah Langevine.
"It was a great start to the season," said El Sherif. "Being out there playing freely and with so much confidence felt amazing. I'm really excited and motivated for what's ahead this season."
Junior Tabeth Tadoum, who has battled through injuries, triumphally teamed with junior Randy Rakotoarilala to win 6-1 at No. 2 doubles to complete the sweep over Giana Felder and Aida Garba. The Aggies turned their attention to singles play, where Villegas came away with a convincing 6-0, 6-0 win over Langevine.
The Aggies lost only seven games during singles play. A&T took a 3-0 lead when El Sherif defeated Felder 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles. That was followed by Rakotoarilala defeating Garba 6-0, 6-0. With the match in hand, the Aggies went for the shutout as Tadoum won 6-0, 6-0 over Johnson. The Aggies finally lost some games during No. 4 and No. 3 singles. Cheraghi won at No. 4 singles with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Ashley Cooke. Gomez Weiss won at No. 3 singles, defeating Castaldo 6-2, 6-2.
Now that the season is finally off and running, the full-strength Aggies return to action on Wednesday, February 25, when they face CAA opponent Elon at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center in Elon, NC.
