MEN’S TENNIS WINS AS HAMPTON SPLITS WITH HOWARD
HAMPTON, Va. – In the “Battle for the Real HU” on the tennis courts, each side came away with one win in Saturday’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference doubleheader between Howard University and Hampton University.
On the men’s side, Hampton earned its third win of the season with a 5-2 decision over the Bison. The women’s match went to Howard in a 7-0 victory.
Men: Hampton 5, Howard 2
Hampton won the doubles point with victories in all three doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead. Matthew Foster-Estwick and Joshua McQueen won at No. 1 doubles 7-5 over Ismael Kaouache and William Jones, III. Peter Odegbami and Fedor Shirin took a 6-2 win at No. 2 over Myron Davis and Laguna Foster, while Charles Hudson and Miguel Suarez defeated Spencer Kelly and Nico Sorrell 6-1 to put Hampton up after doubles.
In singles, Howard won at No. 1 and No. 2 in three-set matches but the Pirates rebounded to sweep the rest of the singles matches in straight sets. Odegbami won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3, while Hudson scored a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 4. Suarez took a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 5 and McQueen won 6-0, 7-5 at No. 6 to put Hampton’s record at 3-7 overall and 1-0 in the MEAC Northern Division.
Women: Howard 7, Hampton 0
The Hampton women were not as fortunate on Saturday as Howard scored a 7-0 victory in its match. Howard swept the doubles matches as Julia d’Auvergne and Cherise Slocombe took their match at No. 2 to a tiebreaker but lost 7-6 (7-5) to Kindha Nasef and Nicole Hutchinson.
In singles, Mikaela Pierce had her match at No. 3 go three sets but she fell to Hutchinson 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2 as Hampton fell to 0-9 overall and 0-2 in the MEAC Northern Division.
The women will return to action on Sunday in Farmville, Va. when they face Longwood University at 2 pm. The men will travel across the water on Tuesday to tangle with Norfolk State at 3 pm.
For more information visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.hubison.com.
NCCU Men Stumble At Longwood
FARMVILLE, Va. – Senior Thomas Persico won his singles match to highlight play for visiting North Carolina Central University in a 6-1 non-conference men's tennis loss at Longwood University Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers won the other four singles matches played in straight sets as Longwood improved to 5-9 overall.
Persico and sophomore Kert Kilumets nearly won their doubles match for the Eagles but were eventually defeated 7-5. The Lancers won the other doubles draw, 6-1, to clinch the first team point.
Persico tallied his first singles triumph of the season on court four with a pair of 6-2 set wins.
Kilumets had the next closest singles match in a 7-6, 6-2 loss in the marquee match. NCCU junior Dillon Strepay, a walk-on player who just started playing tennis in January, won his first collegiate game in a 6-1, 6-0 loss at No. 5 singles.
Longwood received forfeit wins at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles. Alfonso Castellano, Florian Uffer and Julian Farthing all leveled their singles records in dual matches to 7-7 by winning in the upper half of the Lancers singles lineup.
NCCU (1-10) will play its fourth consecutive road match at Duke University on Sunday at 5 p.m.
For more information visit www.nccueaglepride.com.