Men’s Tennis Opens Spring Slate Against North Carolina Central in Cary
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's tennis team is set to compete against North Carolina Central on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, North Carolina, for its first match of the spring.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's tennis team is set to compete against North Carolina Central on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, North Carolina, for its first match of the spring.
MATCH INFORMATION
When: Saturday, Feb. 1
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Where: Cary Tennis Park | Cary, N.C.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
- UNCG was last in action at the Wake Forest Fall Invitational from Nov. 1-3 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to conclude the fall slate. The Spartans claimed nine victories in singles as well as four wins in doubles.
- The Spartans were led by John Gabelic, who picked up three wins while competing in singles over the weekend. Juniors Tymofiy Khrystyuk and Luke Thomson paced the Spartans in doubles with two wins as a duo.
- Andrew Black and Devon Moskowitz were ranked No. 79 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Doubles Rankings on Dec. 5, 2024.
- Black and Moskowitz teamed up to post a 7-0 record and six points for their first national ranking in either singles or doubles. The duo earned its seven wins with a pair during the UNCG Fall Invitational (Sept. 13-15, 2024), three at the Davidson Fall Invitational (Sept. 27-29, 2025) and two more back in Greensboro at the Spartan Fall Invitational (Oct. 20, 2025).
- The Spartans played in five different tournaments this past fall including the UNCG Fall Invitational, Davidson Fall Invitational, ITA Regional Championships, Spartan Fall Invitational and Wake Forest Fall Invitational.
- Last season's men's tennis squad finished 6-16 overall with an 0-7 mark in The Southern Conference (SoCon).
- The season ended with a 4-0 loss to top-seeded ETSU in the SoCon Tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- Khrystyuk paced the team in singles with a 9-10 record. Gabelic was right behind him with a 9-12 record for the season.
- Khrystyuk and Thomson led the way for the Spartans in doubles play with a 5-6 record and 2-2 mark in the SoCon.
- The Spartans have five returning juniors on their roster this season as well as three freshmen who are in their first year at UNCG.
- Head Coach Jeff Trivette is in his 25th season with UNCG Tennis.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
- North Carolina Central opened the spring portion of its schedule with a pair of losses to No. 22 NC State, 7-0, on Jan. 18 and No. 12 Duke, 6-1, on Jan. 19 in Raleigh and then Durham, respectively.
- The Eagles finished the 2024 season 9-15 with a 3-2 record against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference competition and runners-up in the MEAC Tennis Championships. Eleven of the 16 non-conference opponents played NC Central last spring.
- In the fall, NCCU competed in several tournaments including the HBCU National Tennis Championships where the Eagles finished third out of 15 teams. At the first-ever MEAC Individual Championships, senior Hugo Hidalgo Vega and junior Rodrigo Alves won the doubles championship.
- The Eagles returned seven players. The 2024 MEAC Player of the Year, Hidalgo Vega and captain Oliver Saarinen represent the senior class.
- Junior returners include 2024 All-MEAC Second Team performer Kareem Abdul Hakim, Naresh Bharathy and Neiman Sneed. The final junior is newcomer Alves, a transfer from Chicago State University. Alves debuted in the fall pairing with Hidalgo Vega to advance to the ITA Conference Masters.
- Another fresh face on the team is sophomore Antoni Pankowski, formerly of MEAC foe Norfolk State University. Pankowski finished his only Spartan season as a Second Team All-MEAC honoree. Completing the sophomore class is Leo Fortier-Gariepy and redshirt Lucas Artigas.
- Head coach D. Curtis Lawson is in his 25th season at NCCU. Lawson's coaching staff will remain the same as John McLean IV and Gabriel Cucalon return as assistants.
- As voted by the MEAC's head coaches and sports information directors, NC Central was picked to finish second in the conference, 12 points shy of first-place South Carolina State University.
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UP NEXT
The Spartans will head to Boiling Springs, North Carolina, on Wednesday to take on Gardner-Webb at 2:00 p.m. before competing against USC Sumter in their first home match next Friday at 1:00 p.m.
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