NORFOLK, Va., April 23, 2019—
North Carolina Central senior Gabriel Cucalon and
Norfolk State graduate student Naz Karagoz were named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s (MEAC) 2019 Men’s and Women’s Tennis Players of the Year, as voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
North Carolina A&T State’s Vasil Ivanov named the men’s Rookie of the Year, while D. Curtis Lawson of North Carolina Central was selected as the men’s Coach of the Year.
Bethune-Cookman’s Michelle Ncube was chosen as the women’s Rookie of the Year, while South Carolina State’s Hardeep Judge was named the Coach of the Year.
Cucalon went 10-4 in singles competition this season as the Eagles’ top player, including a perfect 4-0 mark in conference play in helping North Carolina Central finish second in the Southern Division – after being picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll. In his last nine singles matches, Cucalon has gone 8-1 – with the only loss in that span coming against nationally-ranked Notre Dame.
Ivanov has rewritten the North Carolina A&T State record books in his first season as an Aggie. He went 11-7 in singles play on the season, including a perfect 4-0 mark in conference play, and he ended the season on a seven-match winning streak. He went 9-1 in his last 10 singles matches, setting the Aggies program mark for most singles victories in a season. Ivanov also notched six doubles wins on the season. He was named MEAC Rookie of the Week five times and Player of the Week twice.
Lawson led the Eagles to a second-place finish in the Southern Division this season, despite being picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll. North Carolina Central’s lone loss in MEAC play came against division champion South Carolina State, and the Eagles also boasted a non-conference win this season over La Salle.
Joining Cucalon and Ivanov on the Men’s All-MEAC First Team are Victor Bravo and Juan Navarro of Bethune-Cookman, Nihit Rawal of Morgan State and Vini Da Silva of Norfolk State.
Karagoz went 9-1 in singles play this season as the Spartans’ top player, including an unblemished 5-0 mark against MEAC Northern Division competition. She ended the regular season on a seven-match winning streak in singles play, parlaying that into being named MEAC Player of the Week four times, and she was also a combined 7-2 in doubles play this season – 4-1 in MEAC matches.
Ncube went a perfect 5-0 in MEAC play in her first season with the Wildcats, while also going 10-3 overall in singles play – all from the No. 1 position. The six-time MEAC Rookie of the Week ended the regular season on an eight-match singles winning streak, and she also boasted a 9-5 record in doubles action – including a perfect 5-0 mark in conference play.
Judge led South Carolina State to the MEAC Southern Division regular-season title, going a perfect 5-0 in conference play and clinching the title on April 15 with a win over North Carolina Central (despite being picked to finish third in the preseason poll). Overall, the Lady Bulldogs went 13-4 and notched non-conference wins over the likes of Radford, Southern Illinois, Hampton, Fairfield and USC Upstate. From March 10 to March 30, South Carolina State went on a nine-match winning streak.
Karagoz and Ncube are joined on the Women’s All-MEAC First Team by Rachel Harden and Haleigh Porter of Florida A&M, North Carolina Central’s Frida Cnossen and Zainab Bendahhou of South Carolina State.
The 2019 MEAC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships begin with women’s play on Thursday, April 25 at 8:30 a.m., with the men starting at 1:30 p.m. The championship concludes on Saturday with the women’s final beginning at 9 a.m., followed by the men’s title match at 12 p.m.
All matches will be held at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.
2019 MEAC Men’s Tennis All-MEAC
as voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors
Player of the Year: Gabriel Cucalon, North Carolina Central
Rookie of the Year: Vasil Ivanov, North Carolina A&T State
Coach of the Year: D. Curtis Lawson, North Carolina Central
FIRST TEAM
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Victor Bravo |
r-Sr. |
Bethune-Cookman |
Santiago, Chile |
| Juan Navarro |
Sr. |
Bethune-Cookman |
Bogota, Colombia |
| Nihit Rawal |
Jr. |
Morgan State |
Chandigarh, India |
| Vini Da Silva |
Jr. |
Norfolk State |
Aracaju, Brazil |
| Vasil Ivanov |
Fr. |
North Carolina A&T State |
Kardzhali, Bulgaria |
| Gabriel Cucalon |
Sr. |
North Carolina Central |
Guayaquil, Ecuador |
SECOND TEAM
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Victor Castro |
Fr. |
Bethune-Cookman |
Marillia, Brazil |
| Jose Plazas |
Sr. |
Bethune-Cookman |
Bogota, Colombia |
| Illya Skoromnyy |
Sr. |
Florida A&M |
Brovary, Ukraine |
| Roger Lyn |
So. |
Howard |
Kingston, Jamaica |
| Oguzhan Ceylan |
So. |
Morgan State |
Izmur, Turkey |
| Marcelo Ramirez |
So. |
South Carolina State |
Panama City, Panama |
2019 MEAC Women’s Tennis All-MEAC
as voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors
Player of the Year: Naz Karagoz, Norfolk State
Rookie of the Year: Michelle Ncube, Bethune-Cookman
Coach of the Year: Hardeep Judge, South Carolina State
FIRST TEAM
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Michelle Ncube |
Fr. |
Bethune-Cookman |
Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Rachel Harden |
So. |
Florida A&M |
Augusta, Ga. |
| Haleigh Porter |
So. |
Florida A&M |
Flossmoor, Ill. |
| Naz Karagoz |
Gr. |
Norfolk State |
Istanbul, Turkey |
| Frida Cnossen |
r-So. |
North Carolina Central |
Laren, Netherlands |
| Zainab Bendahhou |
So. |
South Carolina State |
Casablanca, Morocco |
SECOND TEAM
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Rehaana Butt |
So. |
Bethune-Cookman |
Palm Harbor, Fla. |
| Peggy Rooke |
Sr. |
Morgan State |
Malmo, Sweden |
| Asmara Rose |
So. |
Morgan State |
Baltimore, Md. |
| fabiana Ramirez |
Sr. |
North Carolina A&T State |
Nueva Bolivia, Venezuela |
| Maru Berghaus |
So. |
North Carolina Central |
Cologne, Germany |
| Divya Murali |
Fr. |
South Carolina State |
Chennai, India |