DAVIDSON, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University men's tennis team will return home with two victories in one day after defeating Belmont Abbey College, 4-1 and Davidson College, 4-3 on Saturday. The triumph over Atlantic 10 opponent Davidson is the first ever for the Eagles.
The Eagles opened the day at Davidson facing Belmont Abbey in the early afternoon. NCCU played to clinch leaving Singles No.5 and No.6 unfinished claiming the first four points.
In doubles, NC Central won the point as juniors Rodrigo Alves and Naresh Bharathy took the No.1 slot 6-2 and senior Oliver Saarinen and junior Kareem Abdul Hakim won their fourth doubles match in a row this season 6-0 in No.2 Doubles.
The remaining three points in favor of NCCU came in No.1, No.2 and No.4 Singles. Abdul Hakim moved up to the No.1 position as the Eagles were without the services of senior Hugo Hidalgo Vega. Abdul Hakim won in three sets 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Alves triumphed 6-3, 6-1 (No.2) while sophomore Leo Fortier-Gariepy was victorious 6-4, 7-6 needing a 7-5 tiebreaker to claim the match (No.4).
The finale for the Eagles was with the host school Davidson, who NC Central had never defeated before Saturday. NCCU trailed early dropping the doubles point but would make things interesting in singles.
Bharathy tied up the match with a pair of 6-3 sets in No.3 Singles followed by a 6-4, 6-3 win in No.1 Singles by Abdul Hakim to take a 2-1 lead.
Davidson evened out the match with a victory in the No.4 position until Alves helped the Eagles regain the lead 3-2 in a three-set triumph in No.2 Singles.
For the final time, the Wildcats tied the match after winning No.5 Singles, but Saarinen would come up clutch for the Eagles in the No.6 position. Down by one set, Saarinen took the second set 7-6 after a 7-5 tiebreaker. The senior captain headed into set number three and fell behind 5-3 before saving three match points and eventually winning the set 7-5 and the match.
NCCU is now 3-3 this season. The Maroon and Gray host Campbell University in its next match on Thursday, Feb. 13 at noon at the Cary Tennis Park.
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