CARY, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University men's tennis team earned its first win of the season defeating UNC Greensboro 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Cary Tennis Park spoiling the Spartan's season opener.
NCCU (1-2) earned the first team point of the match with a doubles victory as junior Rodrigo Alves and senior Hugo Hidalgo Vega won No.1 Doubles 7-5 and junior Kareem Abdul Hakim and senior Oliver Saarinen triumphed 6-3 in the No.2 spot against the 79th doubles duo in the nation.
Sophomore Antoni Pankowski extended the lead to 2-0 after defeating his opponent 6-2, 6-4 in No.4 Singles. Hidalgo Vega was the next Eagle in the win column after a 7-6 first set, including a 7-5 tiebreaker, followed by a 6-1 second set.
With the 3-2 advantage, Alves and junior Naresh Bharathy were the final Eagles on the court. Bharathy would clinch the match 7-6, 6-3 in No.3 Singles before Alves' No.2 match wrapped up.
Sophomore Leo Fortier-Gariepy (No.5), and Saarinen (No.6) completed the singles lineup.
The Maroon & Gray look to carry momentum into its next match versus the University of North Carolina on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m. in Chapel Hill.
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