DURHAM, N.C. – On Monday, the North Carolina Central University women's tennis team opened its spring season at the nearby Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center, battling two Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. The Eagles fell in both matches 4-0 starting the afternoon against Virginia Tech and ending the day with host No.11 Duke.
NCCU (0-2) played both matches to clinch as the team scoring four points first secured the win.
Virginia Tech (1-1) had three ranked players as NCCU faced the 62nd doubles team of Charlotte Cartledge and Ozlem Uslu and the 124th-ranked singles player Laima Frosch. Juniors Alejandra Hidalgo Vega and Valeria San Miguel Soria fell 6-0 against the ranked duo and freshman Mariana Zottoli dropped a 6-1, 6-2 decision in No.2 singles to Frosch.
The remaining finished singles matches were from Hidalgo Vega in the No.1 slot (6-4, 6-3) and San Miguel Soria in the No.3 position (6-1, 6-1). With the doubles point to begin the match along with three singles victories, the Hokies earned their first win of the season.
The Eagles faced Duke a few hours later for the second match. The Blue Devils scored the first point with two doubles victories in the No.2 and 3 position. Hidalgo Vega and San Miguel Soria's No.1 match went unfinished versus the 10th-ranked doubles pair Ellie Coleman and Irina Balus.
Duke (4-0) earned its final three points in No.4 singles over sophomore Patricia Palencia, freshman Valentina de Aquino Monsanto (No.5) and sophomore Gabriela Mejia Arenas (No.6) in straight sets.
The final three singles matches went unfinished as the remaining Eagles battled players in the top-50.
NC Central won't play again until the end of the month as the Maroon and Gray travel to Greenville, N.C. on Jan. 31 to face East Carolina.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
