NORFOLK, Va., April 24, 2024 — North Carolina Central junior Hugo Hidalgo Vega and South Carolina State senior Sofiya Chursina were named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s (MEAC) 2024 Men’s and Women’s Tennis Players of the Year as voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Norfolk State’s Jakub Solarski was named the Men’s Rookie of the Year, while Howard University’s Imani Jean was selected as the Women’s Rookie of the Year. South Carolina State’s head coach Hardeep Judge was the recipient of both the Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year honors.
Hidalgo Vega finished the season with an undefeated 5-0 record at No.1 singles against MEAC competition. He enters the MEAC Tennis Championship on a 12-match winning streak at No. 1 singles dating back to late February, with an overall singles record of 15-3 this season. Hidalgo Vega also finished the season as a five-time MEAC Player of the Week recipient.
Chursina earned the MEAC Player of the Year award for the second straight season after?leading the Bulldogs to yet another MEAC regular-season title and a perfect 6-0 mark in league play. She went 5-1 at No. 1 singles with a matching 5-1 mark in doubles play alongside Semlali Hind.
Jean made her collegiate debut as a five-time MEAC Rookie of the Week awardee. She went undefeated in singles action through conference play with a 5-0 record. Jean will enter the MEAC Tennis Championship Tournament on a seven-match singles winning streak.
Solarski finished the season with an 11-10 record primarily at No. 2 singles. He went 7-3 at No. 1 doubles. He piled up multiple nonconference wins and was selected as the MEAC Rookie of the Week twice.
The 2024 MEAC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships begin with women’s play on Thursday, April 25, at 8 a.m., with the men starting at 2 p.m. The championship tournament concludes on Saturday, April 27, with the women’s final beginning at 9 a.m., followed by the men’s title match at 12 p.m.
The 2024 MEAC Tennis Championship semifinal and championship matches will be streamed on ESPN+ at 9:00 a.m. for the women’s and 12:00 p.m. for the men’s.
All matches will be held at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, North Carolina.
2024 Women's Tennis All-MEAC Teams
As voted on by the conference’s head tennis coaches and sports information directors.
Player of the Year: Sofiya Chursina, South Carolina State
Rookie of the Year:Imani Jean, Howard
Coach of the Year:Hardeep Judge, South Carolina State
First Team
|
Name
|
Class
|
School
|
Hometown
|
|
Semlali Hind
|
Sr.
|
South Carolina State
|
Casablanca, Morocco
|
|
Sofiya Chursina
|
Sr.
|
South Carolina State
|
Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
|
|
Alejandra Hidalgo Vega
|
So.
|
North Carolina Central
|
Madrid, Spain
|
|
Gabriela Davidescu
|
Sr.
|
Norfolk State
|
Ploiesti, Romania
|
|
Imani Jean
|
Fr.
|
Howard
|
Brooklyn, New York
|
|
Nalanda Silva
|
Sr.
|
South Carolina State
|
Minacv, Brazil
|
Second Team
|
Name
|
Class
|
School
|
Hometown
|
|
Clara Kuehnle
|
Sr.
|
Delaware State
|
Belgrade, Serbia
|
|
Rachida Berjane
|
Sr.
|
South Carolina State
|
Casablanca, Morocco
|
|
Nadia Pegram
|
Jr.
|
Howard
|
Naples, Pregram
|
|
Daria Jula
|
Sr.
|
Delaware State
|
Ordea, Romania
|
|
Candice Bernier
|
So.
|
North Carolina Central
|
Bordeaux, France
|
|
Klaudija Lisovska
|
Sr.
|
Delaware State
|
Riga, Latvia
|
2024 Men’s Tennis All-MEAC Teams
As voted on by the conference’s head tennis coaches and sports information directors.
Player of the Year:Hugo Hidalgo Vega, North Carolina Central
Rookie of the Year:Jakub Solarski, Norfolk State
Coach of the Year: Hardeep Judge, South Carolina State
First Team
|
Name
|
Class
|
School
|
Hometown
|
|
Hugo Hidalgo Vega
|
Jr.
|
North Carolina Central
|
Madrid, Spain
|
|
Novak Novakovic
|
So.
|
South Carolina State
|
Serbia
|
|
Mikeal Carpenter
|
Sr.
|
Morgan State
|
Suitland, Maryland
|
|
Deniz Okyay
|
Fr.
|
Norfolk State
|
Ankara Turkey
|
|
Fredrick McRae
|
So.
|
Norfolk State
|
Toronto, Canada
|
|
Mikalai Bankou
|
So.
|
South Carolina State
|
Belarus
|
Second Team
|
Name
|
Class
|
School
|
Hometown
|
|
Jakub Solarski
|
Fr.
|
Norfolk State
|
Lodz, Poland
|
|
Michael Major, Jr.
|
Fr.
|
Howard
|
Nassau, Bahamas
|
|
Antoni Pankowski
|
Fr.
|
Norfolk State
|
Jelania Gora, Poland
|
|
Aissa Benchakroun
|
Jr.
|
South Carolina State
|
Morocco
|
|
Vladisav Gorbatenko
|
So.
|
Norfolk State
|
Saint-Petersburg, Russia
|
|
Kareem Abdul Hakim
|
So.
|
North Carolina Central
|
Jakarta, Indonesia
|