SOUTH FULTON, Ga. – North Carolina Central men's and women's tennis competed in their first fall event this past weekend, bringing some hardware back to Durham, N.C. The women's team was crowned HBCU National Tennis Champions on Saturday evening at the tournament bearing the same name.

The 22nd Annual HBCU National Tennis Championships took place on Sept. 14-17 at the South Fulton Tennis Center and included both singles and doubles flights. Each match was a chance for players to earn points for their respective teams ranging from one to 25 points. The team with the highest total was awarded the HBCU National Tennis Championship.

NCCU women's tennis finished with 108 points, which was 15 points ahead of Florida A&M to earn the team victory. NCCU men's tennis finished with 52 points, rounding out the top five.

All eight Lady Eagles soared to the quarterfinals after round of 36 and round of 16 performances. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather, all women's singles flights were halted before the quarterfinal stage could begin. Similar weather issues stopped play in the men's singles flights, but not before Hugo Hidalgo Vega would reach the quarterfinals in men's singles Flight A.

Four doubles teams advanced to the semifinals before falling. For men's tennis, Hugo Hidalgo Vega and Kareem Abdul Hakim battled in Doubles Flight A. On the women's team, the duo of Candice Bernier and Kennedy Hill competed in Doubles Flight A, while the pair of Patricia Palencia and Alejandra Hidalgo Vega, as well as the team of Isabelle Exsted and Maria Picazo Martin in Doubles Flight B.