HAMPTON, Va. – North Carolina A&T women's tennis continues to make strides this season.
On Sunday, the Aggies avenged last year's loss to HBCU rival Hampton University. They beat the fellow Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) member 4-3 at the Hampton Tennis Center. The win improves the Aggies to 5-3 this season. Their only losses have come against defending CAA champion Elon, the Atlantic-10's Temple Owls, and Norfolk State.
Last year, the Pirates defeated a shorthanded Aggies team 5-2 in Greensboro, NC.
In 2026, the Aggies took an early lead by securing the doubles point. It did not come easily. The team of juniors
Tabeth Tadoum and
Randy Rakotoarilala claimed a win at No. 3 doubles, defeating Melis Sakiroglu and Serena Bryan 6-2. Hampton evened the doubles series at No. 2. Samira Khazieva and Chelsea Chakanyuka defeated A&T's sophomore duo of
Flavia Villegas and
Juana Gomez Weiss, 6-4.
Freshman
Valeriia Fomenko and senior
Hana El Sherif came through for the Aggies at No. 1 doubles. They earned a 7-5 win over Tanyaradzwa Midzi and Toffee Ghorab. Fomenko and El Sherif won despite their inexperience playing together. A&T carried over their doubles success into singles. Rakotoarilala won at No. 2 singles, 6-4, 6-2, over Midzi.
Hampton responded at No. 5 singles, but El Sherif's win at No. 1 singles gave the Aggies a 3-1 lead. Hampton then captured the next two singles matches to even the score.
Chakanyuka defeated Fomenko 7-5, 6-4. Ghorab won at No. 3 singles, defeating Weiss Gomez 6-2 in the first set and 7-6 in the second, with a 7-5 win in the tiebreaker. Ghorab's win left the match in the hands of Villegas at No. 6 singles.
Villegas started strong, winning 6-3 in the first set over Sakiroglu. She lost the second set 6-2 and trailed 5-2 in the third. She broke Sakiroglu's serve twice to force a tiebreaker. Villegas finished with a 7-6 (7-4) win in the final set. A&T holds a 1-1 record against CAA competitors this season. Hampton sits at 6-4. The Aggies now travel to Raleigh, NC, to face the Shaw University Bears at 1 p.m., Thursday at Worthdale Park.
