MONTGOMERY, AL ^__ The Alabama A&M Men's tennis team earned a hard fought 4-3 win over Florida A&M in Montgomery on Saturday afternoon.
 
"It was a total team effort," said coach Willis Mbandi. "We were not as sharp in singles play today but we fought hard to come out with this win."
 
The Bulldogs grabbed an early 1-0 lead taking the doubles point. Seniors Nishangan Nadaraja and Shakir Elvin won 6-0 at No. 2, and Hsiang Yi Wang partnering with Cheng Chang won 6-2 at No. 1 giving the Bulldogs the doubles point.
 
"I was pleased with the doubles performance," said Mbandi. "We played very aggressive from the start, and kept the momentum throughout the set."
 
Alabama A&M started singles well when Fermin Ruiz playing No. 3 went up 4-0 in the first set and his opponent retired due to an injury, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead in the match. 
 
Up 2-0 the Bulldogs dropped No. 5 and No. 4 singles as the Rattlers tied the match at 2-2. Hsiang Yi Wang put the Bulldogs back in the lead winning 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1, but the lead didn't last long as the Bulldogs dropped No. 2 singles in three tight sets.
 
With the match tied at 3-3, it came down to Freshman Cheng Chang at No. 6. After losing the first set 6-2, he battled back to win the second set 6-4 and controlled most of the third set winning 7-6 and clinching the Bulldogs win.
 
"Cheng being able to come back from a set down and win the match was big," said Mbandi. " I'm proud of the way he competed, especially with the pressure of clinching the match."
 
Alabama A&M Tennis is back in action on Tuesday at UAH at 1pm.