Durham, N.C. – Norfolk State struggled in the first two matches of its Carolina road trip, losing 7-0 on Saturday at Elon and 7-0 at N.C. Central.
 
The Spartans lost the opening doubles point against Elon, failing to win a game in the No. 1 or No. 2 doubles match. Ibrahim Abbas and Roosevelt Brown III lost 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively to increase the Phoenix lead. Elon took No. 5 and No. 6 singles by default.
 
Despite a plethora of tight games, Federico Rebecchini lost in straight sets against Kyle Frankel 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. NSU freshman Hugo Massoni Lena came up just short in a back-and-forth first set against Camilo Ponce, losing 6-4. With the momentum on his side, Ponce won the second set 6-1.
 
Although the final score showed the same lopsided result, NSU's matchup with NCCU featured plenty of tight matches.
 
Brown and Abbas lost 6-1 at No. 2 doubles, and Rebecchini and Massoni Lena couldn't come up with the win in a 6-4 battle at the top spot, clinching the doubles point for Eagles.
 
Rebecchini fell to a MEAC opponent at No. 1 singles for just the second time this season, losing a three-set thriller against Miles Clark. Clark won the first set 6-3, but Rebecchini bounced back with a 6-4 second set to keep the match alive. Clark escaped from the ensuing third set tiebreak with a 10-8 victory.
 
Massoni Lena lost in straight sets to Sebastian Pino 6-3, 6-2 at the second position, while Abbas was defeated by NCCU's Amit Baran 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3. Brown lost to Oliver Saarinen 6-1, 6-0, and NCCU won slots No. 5 and No. 6 by default.
 
NSU (0-9, 0-3 MEAC) will aim to secure its first win of the season on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. against South Carolina State.