ASHEVILLE – After two competitions against SEC teams on the same day, the North Carolina A&T Aggies went on the road to face the UNC Asheville Bulldogs on Thursday. Thanks to the two SEC losses – one to Georgia and the other to Arkansas – the Aggies are now on an uncharacteristic three-match losing streak with a 5-2 loss to the Bulldogs at Enka High School.

The Aggies are 9-5 with a date against another Power Four school, the N.C. State Wolfpack, approaching. The Aggies will face the Pack on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. from the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. Against the Bulldogs on Thursday, the Aggies lost the doubles point with two competitive losses. At No. 2 doubles, the team of freshman Niklas Laux and senior Mathieu Dussaubat lost to Asheville's Jip Mens and Cian Ingles 6-3.

A&T's No. 1 doubles team of Santos and Brill took Griffin Lovern and Harrison Cooper down to the wire, with Asheville gaining the late advantage to win 7-6 (8-6 in the tiebreaker). The No. 3 doubles match between A&T's Ben Werle and Illia Olefir and Asheville's Leo Kolbe and Martin Fuks prevented the Asheville sweep with Werle and Olefir winning 7-5.

Harrison Cooper got the Bulldogs off to a good start in singles with a 6-1, 6-4 win over freshman Gabriel Linovic. Werle got A&T back into the match with an impressive win at No. 4 singles. He defeated Trevor Gray 6-2, 6-1, cutting Asheville's lead to 2-1. The Bulldogs took their two-match advantage back with a win at No. 3 singles when Daniel Franco-Key defeated Olefir 6-4, 6-0.

Mens defeated Santos for his third loss of the season, 6-1, 6-2. Brill lost his second of the season, dropping a three-setter to Ingles, 7-5, 4-6, 10-5. Dussaubat picked up another A&T win, 6-1, 6-1 over Fuks at No. 6 singles.