NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk State men's tennis team held its own in singles play against one of the top teams in the CAA on Saturday, putting together a terrific effort against 16-2 North Carolina A&T State. The Aggies came away with a 5-2 victory, winning multiple tight matches. 

Competing in the last home match of his collegiate career, senior Federico Rebecchini played a clinical farewell contest at NSU Tennis Complex, defeating Esteban Lopez 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 1 position. Lopez held a strong 11-5 record at the No. 1 singles position heading into Tuesday's competition. 

Boris Lunin also added to his win column with a thrilling singles victory at the No. 5 slot, defeating Ethan Baly 7-5, 3-6, 10-6. 

North Carolina A&T took an early 1-0 lead by sweeping doubles play. Lopez and Vasil Ivanov combined to beat Rebecchini and Adam Kaczmarek 6-2 at the top position, while Eder Blanco and Alex Martinez defeated Hugo Massoni Lena and Lunin 6-2 at the adjacent court. Ian Pedersen and Matthieu Dussaubat took down Saadiq Hinton and Ibrahim Abbas 6-1 at the No. 3 slot. 

The Aggies picked up singles victories in straight sets at the No. 3, 4, and 6 positions to clinch the dual match, but the remaining Spartans continued to fight until the end. Rebecchini closed out his match on Court 1 to put his squad on the scoreboard. 

After Massoni Lena won the first set 7-5 at the No. 2 position, Blanco bounced back to take the second 6-3. The players traded blows in the ensuing third set tiebreak, with Blanco prevailing in the battle of sophomore Spaniards. 

Lunin's match closed things out, with the NSU newcomer battling to take the third set tiebreaker 10-6.  

Norfolk State heads to Cary, N.C. next for the 2023 MEAC Tennis Championships as the No. 5 seed, facing No. 4 seed Howard in the team's opening matchup.