GREENSBORO (January 28, 2017) – North Carolina A&T women's tennis continues to show major improvement. Once again there several close matches before Presbyterian was able to earn a 6-1 win over the Aggies at the Aggie Tennis Complex Saturday morning.
Four days after winning co-player of the week honors from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for her singles win against Wofford, sophomore Sheyla Ramirez continued to show signs she has the potential to be one of the top players in the MEAC. She took Celine Schepers three sets in No. 1 singles before losing 6-7, 8-6, 6-1.
Presbyterian's Tracy Johnson had an equally tough time with the Aggies No. 2 player in junior Khalia Powell. Powell, the team leader in wins a year ago with seven, won her first set over Johnson 6-2 before going down 6-4, 6-0 in the subsequent sets.
The Aggies (0-3) only victory in the morning came from sophomore Angelica Martinez who defeated Caroline Ferrari in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. Freshman Kanishka Chawla had the other competitive singles match for N.C. A&T. She lost in straight sets, but she took Brittany Nuttal to an exhausting 7-5 first set before dropping the second set 6-3.
“She was outstanding and that match was very competitive in singles,” said William Crutchfield, the Aggies director of tennis development. “She was just outstanding today. We're excited about her future.”
N.C. A&T lost the doubles point as Presbyterian swept all three matches. Crutchfield likes what he sees from a team trying to transform from simply being a team of hitters to a team that lets the point evolve.
“People will see a turnaround in how we play as Aggies,” said Crutchfield. “We have to continue to fight. Right now we have lost three matches, and we literally lost them by giving points away. It wasn't that we got beat necessarily, it was that we made mistakes that we must correct going forward.”
N.C. A&T will have two weeks to correct those mistakes. The Aggies don't return to competition until Feb. 11 when they face Coastal Carolina at 2:30 p.m., at the Aggie Tennis Complex.
Tennis Match Results
Presbyterian vs North Carolina A&T
Jan 28, 2017 at Greensboro, N.C.
Presbyterian 6, North Carolina A&T 1
Singles competition:
1. Celine Schepers (PC) def. RAMIREZ,Sheyla (NCATW) 7-6, 8-6, 6-1
2. Tracy Johnson (PC) def. POWELL,Khalia (NCATW) 2-6, 6-4, 6-0
3. MARTINEZ,Angelica (NCATW) def. Caroline Ferrari (PC) 6-1, 6-4
4. Beth Taylor (PC) def. HILTON-ADAMS,Nadia (NCATW) 6-0, 6-1
5. Nicole Croxton (PC) def. SMOLIKOVA,Klara (NCATW) 6-1, 6-3
6. Brittany Nuttall (PC) def. CHAWLA,Kanishka (NCATW) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition:
1. Tracy Johnson/Nicole Croxton (PC) def. POWELL,Khalia/RAMIREZ,Sheyla (NCATW) 6-2
2. Caroline Ferrari/Demi Henschel (PC) def. MARTINEZ,Angelica/HILTON-ADAMS,Nadia (NCATW) 5-3
3. Beth Taylor/Celine Schepers (PC) def. SMOLIKOVA,Klara/CHAWLA,Kanishka (NCATW) 6-1
