NORFOLK, Va. – North Carolina Central’s Daniil Gerasimov and Bethune-Cookman’s Mina Matsuba were named the 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men’s and Women's Tennis Players of the Year, as voted on by the conference's head tennis coaches and sports information directors.
Maria Garoz-Moreno of Bethune-Cookman was named the women’s Rookie of the Year, while Lady Wildcats head coach Tim Pleasant was selected as the Women's Tennis Coach of the Year.
North Carolina Central’s Kert Kilumets earned men’s Rookie of the Year honors and South Carolina State head coach Hardeep Judge was named the Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year.
Matsuba posted a 15-5 singles record at the number one position, with an undefeated 5-0 mark in southern divisional play. She teamed up with Maria Sablina to tally a 13-3 doubles record, including an undefeated 5-0 mark in MEAC play at number one doubles. The sophomore was the MEAC Player of the Week on February 11 and April 1.
Garoz-Moreno, who garnered MEAC Freshman of the Week honors four times, recorded a 12-3 overall mark in singles play, including a 5-0 record during MEAC southern divisional action. She teamed up with Gaby Chinchilla to tally a 9-1 doubles record, including 3-0 in MEAC play.
Pleasant receives his second Coach of the Year award for the women’s tennis program. In his third year at the helm, the Lady Wildcats recorded a 17-6 overall record and posted their second consecutive unblemished 6-0 mark in conference play to earn the top seed in the south.
Joining Matsuba and Garoz-Moreno on the women's First-Team is teammate Gaby Chinchilla, Norfolk State’s Mafalda Lhorca and Liza Gordeeva and North Carolina Central’s Ekaterina Nekrasova.
Gerasimov, posted an unblemished 5-0 mark in conference play and a 16-1 overall record at the number two singles position. The senior finished with a 9-4 mark in doubles play to help the Eagles clinch the number four seed in the south.
Kilumets posted an 11-6 singles record, including a 10-6 mark at the number one singles position for the Eagles. The freshman also registered a 3-6 doubles record and was named the conference’s Rookie of the Week twice this season.
Judge was named the Men’s Coach of the Year honor for the fifth time in his career, first since 2009. He guided South Carolina State to a 13-4 overall mark and a perfect 5-0 record in conference play to grab the top seed in the south.
Along with Gerasimov and Kilumets on the First-Team is South Carolina State’s Soufiane Mouline and Rodney Carey, Bethune-Cookman’s Walid Gtari and Morgan State’s Duk Young-Park.
The 2015 MEAC Men's and Women's Tennis Championships begins with women's play on Thursday, April 16 at 8:30 a.m., with the men starting at Noon. The women's semi-final rounds start on Friday at 8:30 a.m. followed by the men at Noon. The Championship concludes on Saturday with the women's final beginning at 9 a.m. followed by the men's title match at Noon.
2015 MEAC Men’s and Women’s Tennis All-MEAC Teams
As Voted by the Conference’s Head Tennis Coaches and Sports Information Directors
Women
Player of the Year: Mina Matsuba, Bethune-Cookman
Rookie of the Year: Maria Garoz-Mareno, Bethune-Cookman
Coach of the Year: Tim Pleasant, Bethune-Cookman
First Team
Name School Class Hometown
Gaby Chinchilla Bethune-Cookman Sr. San Salvador, El Salvador
Mina Matsuba Bethune-Cookman So. Mie, Japan
Maria Garoz-Mareno Bethune-Cookman Fr. Cadiz, Spain
Ekaterina Nekrasova North Carolina Central Sr. Severodvinsk, Russia
Mafalda Lhorca Norfolk State Sr. V.N. Gala, Portugal
Liza Gordeeva Norfolk State So. Minsk, Belarus
Second Team
Name School Class Hometown
Chinatsu Kajiwara Bethune-Cookman Sr. Fukuoka, Japan
Elvira Galieva Delaware State Fr. Ufa, Russia
Danielle Thompson Morgan State Fr. Nassau, Bahamas
Aissa Muamba North Carolina Central Jr. Laval, Canada
Kamelia Dimitrova Savannah State So. Sofia, Blugaria
Intissar Rassif South Carolina State So. Casablanca, Morocco
Men
Player of the Year: Daniil Gerasimov, North Carolina Central
Rookie of the Year: Kert Kilumets, North Carolina Central
Coach of the Year: Hardeep Judge, South Carolina State
First Team
Name School Class Hometown
Walid Gtari Bethune-Cookman Jr. Arianna, Tunisia
Duk Young-Park Morgan State Sr. Silver Spring, Md.
Daniil Gerasimov North Carolina Central Sr. Belgorod, Russia
Kert Kilumets North Carolina Central Fr. Kuressaare, Estonia
Soufiane Mouline South Carolina State So. Morocco
Rodney Carey South Carolina State Sr. Bahamas
Second Team
Name School Class Hometown
Diego Garavito Bethune-Cookman Sr. Nairobi, Kenya
Ismael Kaouache Howard So. Casablanca, Morocco
Daniel Grauel Norfolk State Sr. Munich, Germany
Pascal Domnik Norfolk State Sr. Balingen, Germany
William East North Carolina Central So. Sheffield, England
Martin Figura South Carolina State So. Puerto Rico