Florida A&M's C. Salif Kante and Hampton's Maria Garcia Ycaza were chosen as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men's and Women's Tennis Athletes of the Week the conference announced on Thursday. Norfolk State's Igor Braga and Laura Gutierrez received Men's and Women's Rookie of the Week accolades, respectively.
Kante (Jr., Dakar, Senegal) was 2-1 last week in matches against Tulane and South Alabama. He defeated Tulane's Idan Mark (6-2, 6-2), who is ranked 79th in the nation, at the number one singles position and teamed with Levan Clark at the number one doubles spot to capture the point 8-5. Against South Alabama, Kante fell to Romain Bocaert 7-6 and 6-2.
Ycaza (Sr., Guayaquil, Ecuador) won a non-conference match against Norfolk State's Rebecca Graff (6-3, 6-3) at the #3 singles position. In doubles action, she won the point over NSU's Graff and Naeemah Brooks 8-3.
Braga (Fr., Brasila, Brazil) was 1-1 in singles action and 1-1 in doubles play in matches against Old Dominion and Hampton. The rookie won in straight sets against Hampton's Kenneth Greene. He also topped Greene and Lakshmana Sactchilhana (8-1) in doubles competition.
Gutierrez (Fr. Bogota, Colombia) finished last week with a singles victory over Hampton's Calisia Reid (6-2, 6-3) and a doubles win against Calisia Reid and Tabita Daolio (8-5).
Other Top Performances:
Victorea Austin (NCAT) defeated Davidson's Blake Nickles (1-6, 6-1, 10-8) in singles play.
Cameron Chatman (NCCU) topped Amryn Soldier of UNC Asheville (6-2, 6-3) to help guide North Carolina Central to a 5-2 win.
Ben Marks (NSU) defeated Alvin Fudd of Hampton 6-2, 7-6 at the number one singles position.