CAYCE, S.C., April 17, 2015 – After a one-day delay due to inclement weather, the 2015 MEAC Men’s Tennis Championship got underway at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center in South Carolina.
Bethune-Cookman defeated Howard 4-0 to advance to the semifinal round. The Wildcats acquired the doubles point and secured victories at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 positions to clinch the win.
No. 3 Greg Almeida earned the 6-0, 6-2 win over Myron Davis, while No. 4 Alvaro Barrera registered wins over Laguna Foster, 6-0, 6-3. Kevin Deligny cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 final singles victory in the match to help the Wildcats move to the next round. With the win B-CU improved to 14-12 while Howard ended their season with a 3-13 overall record.
Bethune-Cookman and N.C. Central will compete in the semifinal round later today following the women’s semifinal games.
Florida A&M claimed the 4-1 win over Hampton in the first round to ensure its advancement in the 2015 championships. The Rattlers improved to 3-10, while Hampton ended its 2015 campaign with an overall record of 4-13.
FAMU struck first in the match, as its No. 2 doubles duo of Karlyn Small and Carlos Waitman claimed an 8-3 win over Hampton’s Peter Odegbami and Fedor Shirin, and its third doubles team of Jalen Evans and Joel Ovonlen-Jones earned an 8-0 win over Joshua McQueen and Lakshmana Satchithananthan.
In singles play, Small battled to a win against Luke Thompson 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 1 position. No. 4 Courage Okungbowa bested Odegbami 6-3, 6-3 setting up a 6-0, 6-1 final point win at sixth singles for FAMU’s Joel Ovonlen-Jones over Fedor Shirin.
South Carolina State men’s tennis team moved to the semifinal round after defeating Coppin State, 4-0. The top seeded-southern team breezed through the matchup and will face FAMU in the semifinal round.
SCSU’s doubles duo Soufiane Mouline and Edgar Diaz dominated over David Ogan and Mark London with an 8-0 win as Rodney Carey and Martin Figura claimed the unfinished victory over Gavin Lewis and Patrick Thomas to secure the first point.
Victories at the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 positions solidified the regular season divisional champion’s advancement to the next round.
South Carolina State extends its record to 14-4 while Coppin State closes their season at 1-12.
No. 4 seed-south North Carolina Central also advanced to the semifinal round following a victory over No. 1 seed-north Morgan State in a 4-2 victory on Friday afternoon. The Eagles raised their overall record to 11-9 following the decision over the Bears who closed out their season at 4-11.
North Carolina Central posted the team’s first point in doubles play with an 8-2 win at No. 2 and 8-4 victory at No. 3.
Wins from the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6 positions helped the Eagles soar into the next round. Kert Kilumets earned the 6-1, 6-2 decision over Evan Ward in the first singles match. No. 3 William East defeated Felix Andre 6-2, 7-6 (4) and No. 6 Tamina Kienka received the final point as he bettered Freajh Ferguson 6-0, 6-1 to seal the win.
North Carolina Central takes on Bethune-Cookman in the semifinal round that gets underway following today’s women’s semifinal action.