DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central's men's tennis team opened its season Sunday evening against No. 17 Duke at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. The Blue Devils defeated the Eagles, 4-0, with the remaining singles matches going unfinished. Each Eagles singles player won multiple games in their matches.

In doubles competition, NCCU dropped matches at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Kareem Abdul Hakim and Rodrigo Alves fell 6-2, while Pol Puig Montiel and Leo Fortier-Gariepy suffered a 6-0 defeat. Naresh Bharathy and Antoni Pankowski's match at No. 2 doubles went unfinished, with the pair trailing 5-2.

Pankowski's singles match concluded first, as he fell to Duke's Saahith Jayaraman in a pair of 6-1 sets in the No. 5 position. Puig Montiel's No. 4 singles match against Dylan Long ended in a 6-0, 6-2 loss, and the Blue Devils clinched the match at No. 6 singles, where Santiago Pinna fell by the same score to Teddy Truwit. Puig Montiel and Pinna both made their Eagle debuts on Sunday.

Bharathy's, Abdul Hakim's, and Alves' matches all went unfinished. Alves was attempting to rally from a 6-3, 4-1 deficit, while Abdul Hakim and Bharathy were beginning to build momentum, each trailing by just one game in their second sets.

NCCU has more than a week to prepare for its next match, as the Eagles visit North Carolina on Jan. 28. The match is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Chewning Tennis Center.

For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.