Men's Tennis | 1/19/2025 10:11:00 PM
DURHAM, N.C. – Seniors Hugo Hidalgo Vega and Oliver Saarinen along with junior Kareem Abdul Hakim triumphed in individual matches in a 6-1 loss at No.12 Duke on Sunday evening at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
Hidalgo Vega took down the 38th-ranked singles player Pedro Rodenas in No.1 singles securing the only team point marking the highest-ranked singles victory in school history.
After winning the first set 6-4, Hidalgo Vega dropped the second set 6-3 leading to a 10-8 tiebreaker win.
Abdul Hakim (No.2), Rodrigo Alves (No.3), Naresh Bharathy (No.4), Antoni Pankowski (No.5) and Leo Fortier-Gariepy (No.6) made up the rest of the singles field as the Blue Devils won the remaining matches in two sets.
Saarinen and Abdul Hakim paired up in No.2 doubles defeating Gerard Planelles Ripoll and Remy Dugardin 6-2. This was the only doubles win for NCCU as Duke took the first point of the match.
Alves and Hidalgo Vega (No.1) and Pankowski and Fortier-Gariepy (No.3) completed the doubles slots for the Eagles.
NC Central doesn't have another match in January and will prepare to host UNC Greensboro on Feb. 1 at the Cary Tennis Center.
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Tennis Match Results
N.C. Central vs Duke
Jan 19, 2025 at Durham, N.C.
(Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center)
#12 Duke 6, N.C. Central 1
Singles competition
1. HIDALGO,Hugo (NCCU-MT) def. #38 Pedro Rodanes (DU) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
2. G Planelles Ripoll (DU) def. ABDUL HAKIM,Kareem (NCCU-MT) 6-2, 6-4
3. Saahith Jayaraman (DU) def. ALVES,Rodrigo (NCCU-MT) 6-1, 6-0
4. Jake Krug (DU) def. BHARATHY,Naresh (NCCU-MT) 6-3, 6-4
5. Teddy Truwit (DU) def. PANKOWSKI,Antoni (NCCU-MT) 6-1, 6-1
6. Theo Winegar (DU) def. FORTIER,Leo (NCCU-MT) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Pedro Rodanes/Theo Winegar (DU) def. ALVES,Rodrigo/HIDALGO,Hugo (NCCU-MT) 6-4
2. ABDUL HAKIM,Kareem/SAARINEN,Oliver (NCCU-MT) def. G Planelles Ripoll/Remy Dugardin (DU) 6-2
3. Teddy Truwit/Saahith Jayaraman (DU) def. PANKOWSKI,Antoni/FORTIER,Leo (NCCU-MT) 6-2
Match Notes:
N.C. Central 0-2
Duke 2-0; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,3,4,2,1)
T-2:05