CARY, N.C. – In back-to-back seasons, North Carolina Central men's tennis defeated rival North Carolina A&T with a 4-3 victory Thursday afternoon at Cary Tennis Park. Junior Antoni Pankowski clinched the match for the Eagles at No. 5 singles.

NCCU (11-7, 3-1 MEAC) took care of business in doubles play. Pol Puig Montiel and Leo Fortier-Gariepy secured a 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles, while Pankowski and Naresh Bharathy followed with a 6-3 victory in the No. 2 slot to claim the doubles point.

The Eagles extended their lead to 3-0 with consecutive singles wins. Kareem Abdul Hakim delivered a dominant performance at No. 3 singles, cruising to a 6-2, 6-0 victory. Santiago Pinna added another point with a pair of 6-3 set wins at No. 4 singles.

North Carolina A&T (10-9, 1-0 CAA) responded with a win at No. 6 singles and later added victories at No. 2 and No. 1 positions.

Before the Aggies closed out the day with their final two triumphs, Pankowski sealed the victory for NCCU. After dropping the first set, he rallied to win a second-set tiebreaker and sealed the match with a 6-2 win in the third set.

The Eagles will wrap up the regular season conference slate on Saturday, April 11, hosting Norfolk State at noon at Cary Tennis Park.

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