The South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs and Howard Lady Bison will compete tomorrow in the 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tennis Championship women's final beginning at 9 a.m. followed by the South Carolina State Bulldogs and the Florida A&M Rattlers men's finale at 11:30 a.m. at the Millbrook Tennis Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The reigning MEAC Champion South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs, who earned the top seed in the south, defeated No. 3 Bethune-Cookman Lady Wildcats 4-0 and will compete for their sixth straight MEAC women's tennis title and seventh overall. The Lady Bulldogs' took the lead going into singles play after winning the doubles points at the number two (8-3) and number three (8-5) spots. Amy Chen guided SCSU to tomorrow's final with the deciding win at the number six spot over B-CU's Jeneice Ward (6-3, 6-1). The Lady Bulldogs also won points at the number three, and five singles positions.
Howard, the top seed in the north defeated No. 2 Florida A&M, 4-0, and will vie for their first tennis championship title since the 1995 season. The Lady Bison won the doubles point and captured wins at the number one, two and six singles positions to advance. Michelle Brown, the 2010 MEAC Player of the Year, sealed the victory for the Howard with a win over Rachel Pye, an All-MEAC First-Team selection, 6-3, 6-2 at the number one singles spot.
In men's action, top seeded South Carolina State defeated the Hampton Pirates to earn a spot in the men's title match. The Bulldogs won the doubles point and followed with wins at the two, four, five and six singles positions. Dmytro Kovalevych defeated Hampton's Edson Alves (6-2,6-4) at the number four spot, while Alexsadr Malko topped Alvin Fludd (6-2, 6-2) at the same time to lead the defending MEAC Champion Bulldogs to a 5-0 sweep of Hampton and a trip to tomorrow's championship finale.
In the second men's semifinal matchup, the Florida A&M Rattlers defeated the Howard Bison in a match that lasted three hours. Florida A&M took the lead after winning the doubles point at the number one (8-6) and three (8-3) spots. The Rattlers dominated singles with early wins at the number three and six singles positions. Junior Maurice Wamokowa defeated Howard's Tonique Merrell 6-4, 6-4 to lead the Rattlers to their first championship appearance since the 2008 season. The Rattlers will face the Bulldogs in the men's championship final at 11:30 a.m.