CARY, N.C., April 27, 2023 – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) concluded the first day of the 2023 Tennis Championships on Thursday, hosted by North Carolina Central, at Cary Tennis Park, with Mother Nature forcing the quarterfinal round indoors.
 
Women: North Carolina Central 4, Coppin State 0
Second-seeded North Carolina Central turned in the first result of the tournament, defeating a short-handed Coppin State squad 4-0. The seventh-seeded Eagles were down 2-0 coming into the match due to injuries to their No. 5 and No. 6 singles players.
 
As a result, N.C. Central needed just two singles wins to clinch the match. MEAC Rookie of the Year Alejandra Hidalgo Vega defeated Megan Etienne 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 singles for her seventh straight win, and First Team All-MEAC honoree Candice Bernier won 6-0, 6-1 over Mackenzie Jones at No. 3.
 
With the match moved indoors, the doubles point was not contested.
 
Women: Howard 4, Morgan State 1
Nadia Pegram won a marathon match over Morgan State’s Lauryn Hill to clinch the Bison’s 4-1 quarterfinal win – taking the No. 4 singles match 6-7, 6-1, 7-6. The Bison will face top seed South Carolina State in Friday’s semifinal round.
 
Sifa Butcher, a First Team All-MEAC selection, won at No. 1 singles over Averiana Mitchell (6-2, 6-3), while Jordan Grayson won 6-4, 6-4 over Asmara Rose at No. 3 singles and Emnet Simunyola defeated Ana-Lei Kalawe at No. 5, 6-1, 6-0.
 
Hannah Smith gave the Bears their lone singles win at No. 2, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 over Selah Stibbins.
 
The doubles point was not contested.
 
Women: Delaware State 4, Norfolk State 0
The third-seeded Hornets made quick work of the sixth-seeded Spartans, highlighted by Kit Yi Kay Au-Yeung’s 6-4, 6-1 win over Aleksandra Evdokimova at No. 1 singles. Noelani Lui won 6-3, 6-3 over Laura Ruiz at No. 2 singles, while No. 3 singles saw Daria Julia win 6-4, 6-1 over Breana Cook.
 
No. 5 singles clinched the match, where Baluck Deang won 6-0, 6-2 over Zada McMorris.
 
As with the other morning quarterfinals, the doubles point was not contested.
 
Men: North Carolina Central 4, Coppin State 0
Much like the women’s match Thursday morning between these two schools, North Carolina Central took advantage of a shorthanded Coppin State team. Sebastian Pino picked up a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles over Vansh Kapoor, while Kareem Abdul Hakim won 6-3, 6-2 over Rishi Jalota at No. 3.
 
Again, the doubles point went uncontested.
 
Men: Norfolk State 4, Howard 3
The final match of the day was the only one that needed the doubles point, as the fifth-seeded Spartans gave the fourth-seeded Bison all they could handle. An intense singles session, in which each team racked up three wins, culminated in a spirited doubles bout – one that came down to the top pairings squaring off.
 
Marcel Dawson, at No. 2 singles, won his match 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, while Hassimiyou Dieng (No. 4) and Pierce Westbrook (No. 6) also gave the Bison singles wins. Norfolk State won at No. 1 singles with First Team All-MEAC selection Federico Rebecchini (7-6, 2-6, 7-6), while also winning at No. 3 (Adam Kaczmarek) and No. 5 (Boris Lunin) singles.
 
Westbrook and Gabe Knowles gave the Bison a 6-0 doubles win at No. 3, but the Spartans won the other two – including a spirited 7-6 (4) victory from Rebecchini and Kaczmarek at No. 1 to clinch the match and advance to the semifinals.
 
Friday’s semifinal round will begin at 9 a.m. with the women’s semifinals. Howard will square off against top seed and two-time defending champion South Carolina State, while North Carolina Central will take on Delaware State.
 
The men’s semifinals will follow at 12 p.m., with North Carolina Central taking on No. 2 seed Morgan State and top seed and defending champion South Carolina State taking on Norfolk State.
 
The semifinals will stream live on ESPN+.
 
For more information, please visit the Championship Central page.