NORFOLK, Va., April 21, 2021—
Norfolk State senior Andres Alcaraz and
South Carolina State freshman Rachida Berjane were named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s (MEAC) 2021 Men’s and Women’s Tennis Players of the Year, presented by TowneBank, as voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
North Carolina Central’s Stipan Madzar was named the men’s Rookie of the Year, while
Norfolk State’s Larry Holmes and
South Carolina State’s Hardeep Judge shared Coach of the Year honors.
Berjane was also chosen as the women’s Rookie of the Year, while
Holmes was also named women’s Coach of the Year.
Alcaraz was 9-2 in singles play during the regular season, and he enters the MEAC Tennis Championship on an eight-match winning streak. Alcaraz was undefeated in conference play, and he played the majority of his matches during the season in the No. 2 position (though he was in the No. 1 slot against Christopher Newport, Howard and Coppin State. Four of Alcaraz’s last five singles victories have come in straight sets.
Madzar was 4-4 in singles play in his first season with the Eagles, including a perfect 2-0 mark in conference play, playing in the No. 1 singles spot for the entire season. He wrapped up the season winning four of his last six singles matches, including victories over South Carolina State’s Aleska Daskalovic and North Carolina A&T State’s Nicholas Arduh.
Holmes led the Spartans to the Northern Division regular-season title in his first season at the helm. Norfolk State went undefeated in conference play – defeating all three Northern Division foes in consecutive days in the first weekend of April -- and was 7-4 overall.
Judge led the Bulldogs to the Southern Division regular-season title, as his squad defeated both North Carolina A&T State and North Carolina Central in conference play. South Carolina State went 5-5 overall this season, including non-conference wins over The Citadel, Campbell and Gardner-Webb.
Joining Alcaraz and Madzar on the Men’s All-MEAC First Team are Coppin State’s Sergiu Medesan, Norfolk State’s Federico Rebecchini and South Carolina State’s Elyes Marouani and Marcelo Rodriguez.
Berjane was 4-2 in singles play this season, including a perfect 3-0 mark in conference play in helping the Bulldogs win the Southern Division regular-season title and playing the entire season at the No. 1 position. She was also 4-2 on the season in doubles play. Berjane is the first MEAC women’s player to win Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season since 2014 (Mina Matsuba, Bethune-Cookman).
Holmes led the Spartans to an 8-5 overall record and a perfect 3-0 mark in league play in winning the Northern Division regular-season title in his first season at the helm. Norfolk State enters the MEAC Tennis Championship on a six-match winning streak.
Berjane is joined on the Women’s All-MEAC First Team by Rachel Harden, Aylen Hubeaut and Arielle Nealy of Florida A&M, Norfolk State’s Paula Fortuno and South Carolina State’s Hind Semlali.
The 2021 MEAC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships begin with women’s play on Saturday at 9 a.m., with the men starting at 12 p.m. The championship concludes on Sunday 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
2021 Women's Tennis All-MEAC Teams
As voted on by the conference’s head tennis coaches and sports information directors.
Player of the Year: Rachida Berjane, South Carolina State
Rookie of the Year: Rachida Berjane, South Carolina State
Coach of the Year: Larry Holmes, Norfolk State
First Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Rachel Harden |
Sr. |
Florida A&M |
Augusta, Ga. |
| Aylen Hubeaut |
Sr. |
Florida A&M |
Santa Fe, Argentina |
| Arielle Nealy |
Jr. |
Florida A&M |
Buffalo, N.Y. |
| Paula Fortuno |
r-Sr. |
Norfolk State |
Vila-real, Spain |
| Rachida Berjane |
Fr. |
South Carolina State |
Casablanca, Morocco |
| Hind Semlali |
Fr. |
South Carolina State |
Casablanca, Morocco |
Second Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Iris Leder |
Sr. |
Delaware State |
Beneden Leeuwen, Netherlands |
| Klaudija Lisovska |
Fr. |
Delaware State |
Riga, Latvia |
| Zoe Fraser |
Sr. |
Norfolk State |
Virginia Beach, Va. |
| Laura Ruiz |
Fr. |
Norfolk State |
Ibague, Colombia |
| Josefa Fernandez |
Fr. |
North Carolina Central |
Santiago, Chile |
| Jade Houston |
Jr. |
North Carolina Central |
Kernersville, N.C. |
2021 Men’s Tennis All-MEAC Teams
As voted on by the conference’s head tennis coaches and sports information directors.
Player of the Year: Andres Alcaraz, Norfolk State
Rookie of the Year: Stipan Madzar, North Carolina Central
Co-Coaches of the Year: Larry Holmes, Norfolk State / Hardeep Judge, South Carolina State
First Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Sergiu Medesan |
Jr. |
Coppin State |
Constanta, Romania |
| Andres Alcaraz |
r-Sr. |
Norfolk State |
Pachuca, Mexico |
| Federico Rebecchini |
Jr. |
Norfolk State |
Verona, Italy |
| Stipan Madzar |
Fr. |
North Carolina Central |
Split, Croatia |
| Elyes Marouani |
Fr. |
South Carolina State |
Tunis, Tunisia |
| Marcelo Rodriguez |
Sr. |
South Carolina State |
Panama City, Panama |
Second Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Justin Cadeau |
Fr. |
Howard |
West Orange, N.J. |
| Ignacio Guevel |
r-Sr. |
Norfolk State |
Santiago del Estero, Argentina |
| Santiago Rendon |
Fr. |
Norfolk State |
Bogota, Colombia |
| Vasil Ivanov |
So. |
North Carolina A&T State |
Kardzhali, Bulgaria |
| Miles Clark |
Sr. |
North Carolina Central |
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. |
| Oner Gorgun |
Jr. |
South Carolina State |
Kocaeli, Turkey |