DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University women's tennis team was narrowly defeated by South Carolina State University 4-3 on Friday evening. Sophomore Candice Bernier is still undefeated in conference play stretching out her streak to seven singles match victories in a row.
Before the match began, head coach Sofia Rachi made a presentation to seniors Isabelle Exsted and Jade Houston in their final home match at NCCU.
After the pregame ceremony, South Carolina State and NC Central would start the match in both teams' final regular season conference contest. The Bulldogs took No.3 Doubles over freshman Patricia Palencia and Exsted, but junior Kennedy Hill and sophomore Alejandra Hidalgo Vega evened the scale by winning No.2 Doubles 6-3. SCSU defeated Houston and Bernier in No.1 Doubles for the first point of the afternoon.
Candice Bernier by Doug Burt
SCSU (12-4, 6-0 MEAC) began singles competition with a 3-0 lead after Palencia and Houston each dropped No.2 and 4 Singles, respectively. Bernier would get the Eagles on the board as she triumphed 6-1, 6-4 in No.3 Doubles to extend her singles winning streak to seven matches.
Hidalgo Vega secured the next point for NCCU in three sets. She outdueled SCSU's Sofiya Chursina in a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory. Hidalgo Vega is also on a streak, winning five singles matches in a row.
The Bulldogs would clinch the winning point in No.5 Singles after Exsted fell 6-2, 6-1. The Eagles weren't finished yet as junior Lafi Joao closed out the day coming out on top over Feriel Mahbouli. Joao won the first set after a 7-1 tiebreaker victory. She needed another tiebreaker after falling in the second set, overcoming her opponent 11-9 for the third point for NCCU.
NC Central (6-14, 3-3 MEAC) will direct its focus to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tennis Championships taking place at the Cary Tennis Park on April 25-27.
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