Winning the MEAC Tennis Championship has become something of right of spring for South Carolina State.

 

   The men’s team has won four of the last five conference titles, including the 2008 crown, and as the No. 1 seed in the southern division is favored to continue its dominance at this year’s MEAC Tennis Championship at the Millbrook Center in Raleigh, N.C., which will contested Friday, April 17-Sunday, April 19.

 

On the women’s side, the Lady Bulldogs are the four-time defending champions, and they are the No. 1 seed for the fourth consecutive year.

 

   Coach Hardeep Judge is cautiously optimistic that both teams will successfully defend their titles after enduring an injury-riddled outdoor season.

 

  “I feel we have a chance,’’ Judge says. “It’s been a struggle. We’ve battled injuries all year, and we played through them. It will be difficult.

 

     On the men’s side, senior Dimitry Lomakin, who plays at No. 2 spot, missed most of the season with an injury, was cleared to play last week. Sophomore Gabriel Meana, the 2008 MEAC Rookie of the Year who plays at No. 4 for the Bulldogs, is expected to be 100% after suffering a sprained ankle three weeks ago.

 

 

   Judge says Lomakin performed well in practice and “he’s going to give us strength that we haven’t had’’ during the season. Judge says “Meana is playing his best tennis of the year.’’

 

  On the women’s side, South Carolina State Nos. 1-6 players were all injured at some point during the season. Judge rested players during the Lady Bulldogs’ final half dozen matches of the season to allow their injuries to heal.

 

 “We should be fairly healthy,’’ he says. “At this time of year, you’ve played so many matches. You tend to have lingering injuries, but I feel pretty good on the women’s side.’’

 

   This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Lady Bulldogs after the Nos. 1-3 players from last season graduated. However, freshmen Amy Chen, Fanni Fricska, Aniko Kiss, Daria Sekerina and Tatiana Varela filled the breech, and the Lady Bulldogs are once again atop the MEAC.

 

  “We just worked hard,’’ Judge says, “and we’ve gotten better as a team and tennis players.’’. 

   Judge expects Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M and Hampton to pose the biggest threats on both the men’s and women’s sides. Hampton is the No. 1 seed in the north division. However, Hampton’s men and women lost to Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M.

 

Dr. Robert Screen the dean of MEAC coaches with 36 years in the profession, says Hampton is much stronger now than when it lost to Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M.

 

The emergence of a pair of freshmen, Nelio Mattos on the men’s side and Maria Ycaza on the women’s side, has given Hampton a tremendous boost since the season began. Mattos, who plays at No. 3, was 7-3 in singles overall and 4-0 conference matches. He was also 7-3 in doubles and 4-0 in the conference.

 

 Ycaza was 5-8 overall in singles and 4-1 in the MEAC. She was 4-0 MEAC doubles and 5-7 overall.

  Hampton also got strong performances from their No. 1 players, Edson Alves on the men’s side and Na-Hyun Baek for the women. Alves was 3-1 in singles play. Baek was 5-0 in singles in the conference and 11-2 and 8-4 in doubles overall and 4-0 in MEAC play.

 

Sung-Kwon Baek was undefeated (5-0) in conference play at No. 2 for the Pirates on the men’s side.

 

 Screen’s winning doubles play will be critical for the Hampton men. Marcelo Reda and Alves were undefeated at No. 1 in doubles as were Baek and Mattos at the No 2 doubles position.

 

 

Hampton has a proud tennis tradition, having won eight men’s titles and five women’s crowns since joining the MEAC in 1996. There dominance led other schools to strengthen their programs, Screen says.

 

   “The MEAC is much stronger than it used to be,’’ he says. “Other schools are really coming up.’’

 

 Screen was among the first coaches to recruit international tennis players. That gave Hampton edge not only against MEAC competition but non-conference foes as well. However, virtually all NCAA tennis programs’ rosters are now filled with international players. That has brought Hampton back to the field. Screen sees that turn of events as testimony to his impact on the game.

 

  “I can say I was a model for college tennis not just in the MEAC,’’ he says.