North Carolina A&T’s Women’s tennis team played their first home match of the season against the Elon Phoenix on Friday, Jan. 20.
The Aggies and the Phoenix played very intense doubles and singles matches. Although the Aggies brought their powerful swings and dedicated attitudes they lost their match against Elon with the final score being 7-0.
Head Coach James Dunwoody was very proud of his team’s hard work. “I saw and understood their strengths and weaknesses of the match,” said Dunwoody. “First thing I need to do as a coach is work on their weaknesses.” Dunwoody also stated that he has seen improvement in his team. In a past game against Elon the match did not even last long as it did today at almost 2 hours. “I think we are as good as Elon the way we played today,” Dunwoody said with a confident smile.
Doubles was the first to be played and the Aggies lost each match. In the doubles match players Cayla Cross and Azeib Nigatu lost their match by a final score of 8-0. Nianna Henry and Kimberly Stalling along with Kenya Colbert and April Burrage both lost their matches by a final score of 8-2. An opponent of Colbert and Burrage, sophomore Frida Jansaker, spoke out to say that it was an overall good competitive game. “It was a good match, our team played really well today. I’ve played on this team from freshman year and I can say we’ve raised the bar.”
April Burrage and Kenya Colbert, both first time college tennis players, revealed that it was a good match. “I believe we need to continue to work hard so we will be ready for the conference,” said April Burrage. Burrage isn’t the only one preparing to get ready for the conference matches. “The goal is not to necessarily win. It’s to work hard and to prepare for the conference matches,” team member Cayla Cross noted. “These games are more for us to see were we are and what to practice for it [conference].”
Kimberly Stalling started off the singles match intense and strong leading the Aggies ahead. She fell short to competitor Bryn Khoury by scores of 6-2, 0-6. Cayla Cross took on Barboa Lazarova and lost by 6-3, 6-0. Kenya Colbert fell against Briana Berne with scores of 6-0, 6-0. Azieb Nigatu served it up against Maria Ruiz and lost by 6-2, 6-2. Nianna Henry battled against Katy Canada and lost by 6-0, 6-0. April Burrage played against Kaylyn Smialek and walked away with score of 6-2, 6-2.
The Aggies are headed to compete against Appalachian State on Saturday, Jan 21 at 3p.m. to hopefully bring home a win of a match.
The Aggies will swing into action at their next home game at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday, Jan 28 at 1 p.m. against the Wofford Terriers.
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- Breanna Vigilance, Contributor