GREENSBORO, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University men's tennis team fell 4-3 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro on Friday afternoon with three players having winning singles performances. Juniors Oliver Saarinen and Hugo Hidalgo Vega along with sophomore Naresh Bharathy were all victorious in their singles matches.

NCCU (6-12, 3-0 MEAC) went into singles play down one point after UNCG took doubles. Sophomore Kareem Abdul Hakim and Saarinen dropped No.1 Doubles 7-5. Freshman Leo Fortier-Gariepy and Hidalgo Vega won No.2 Doubles 6-4 to even the score. Sophomore Neiman Sneed and Bharathy suffered a 6-2 loss in No.3 Doubles with the Spartans securing the first point.

UNCG (6-13, 0-6 SoCon) would take a 3-0 advantage after triumphing in No.6 and No.3 Singles. Redshirt freshman Lucas Artigas dropped a 6-0, 6-2 match followed by a 6-2, 6-4 defeat for Fortier-Gariepy.

Hidalgo Vega and Saarinen would help bring the score closer as the two won their matches. Saarinen came out on top 7-6, 6-4 in No.5 Singles while Hidalgo Vega took care of business in No.1 Singles winning 6-3, 6-4 continuing his nine-match winning streak.

The Spartans clinched the match by defeating sophomore Kareem Abdul Hakim in No.2 Singles in three sets. After falling 7-6 in a first-set tiebreaker, Abdul Hakim won the second 6-2 before UNCG took the final set 6-4.

Bharathy battled for the third point for NCCU winning No.3 Singles in three sets. He won the first set 7-6 and excelled 6-3 in the third.

The Eagles resume conference play on Sunday, April 7 hosting Norfolk State University at 2 p.m. at the Dr. James W. Younge Tennis Courts.

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