MEAC Announces Weekly Tennis Honors

Men's Tennis | 3/26/2025 12:53:47 PM

NORFOLK, Va., Mar. 26, 2025 — Howard freshman Kaosie Nwokedi was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men's Tennis Player and Rookie of the Week.   

Delaware State junior Lucia Casas Blas was named the MEAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week. Norfolk State freshman Yuliya Yurkova was named the MEAC Women’s Rookie of the Week. 

Nwokedi (Fr., Charlotte, N.C) delivered a dominant week for Howard, securing back-to-back singles victories against Wagner’s Damian Janiszewski (6-4, 6-3) and Longwood’s Petar Belosevic (6-2, 6-2). In doubles play Nwokedi helped earn a commanding 6-1 win over Wagner’s Eddie Schmidt and Pablo Rodriguez Gonzalez, before narrowly falling in a 7-6 (13-11) tiebreaker against Longwood’s Belosevic and Petter Lindquist. 

Casas Blas (Jr., Madrid, Spain) had an outstanding week for the Hornets, finishing 4-0 on the week. She defeated Wilmington’s Siana MacDonald (6-1, 6-3) and Morgan State’s Julia Jeffrey (7-5, 6-0) in singles.  In doubles, she partnered with Kit Yi Kaye Au-Yeung, earning commanding victories over Wilmington (6-0) and Morgan State (6-2). 

Yurkova (Fr., Vitebsk, Belarus) went a perfect 3-0 in singles and doubles for an undefeated week on the court for the Spartans. Yurkova won her matches against Frostburg State and Virginia State in two sets while winning her third match against East Carolina in three sets (6-3, 2-6, 10-7).  Yurkova dropped just two games in doubles action winning 6-1 against Frostburg State and East Carolina while winning 6-0 over Virginia State. 

Other Top Performers   

  • Vladisav Gorbatenko (NSU) went undefeated in singles with a 3-0 record, winning at the No. 2 spot with victories over Virginia State’s Bryan Jordan (6-3, 6-0), Frostburg State’s Cole Alcala (7-6, 7-5), and Centre College’s Ben Rueff (6-2, 6-4). In doubles, Gorbatenko posted a 2-1 record, including a dominant 6-0 win with Krishi Motam against Virginia State and a 6-4 victory against Frostburg State. 
  • Igor Kubalka (NSU) finished 3-0 in singles, winning all matches in dominant fashion, including a 6-0, 6-0 win over Jalen Felix and a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Noah Fisher. Kubalka also went undefeated in doubles at 2-0, securing victories with Jalen Felix, including a 6-2 win against Virginia State and a 6-4 win against Centre College. 
  • Nadia Pegram (HU) went 2-0, winning her singles match (6-2, 6-2) and doubles match (6-1) against Wagner College. 
  • Alejandra Hidalgo Vega (NCCU) helped clinch the victory at Radford on Sunday with a three-set No.1 Singles victory for the 4-3 win. Hidalgo Vega’s No.1 singles match against Wofford went unfinished as she was headed into the second set with a 7-6 first set victory.