MEAC Announces Weekly Tennis Honors

Men's Tennis | 4/2/2025 2:31:16 PM

NORFOLK, Va., Apr. 2, 2025 — North Carolina Central junior Kareem Abdul Hakim has been named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men's Tennis Player of the Week. 

Howard’s Ava Chambers was named the MEAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week, while Norfolk State freshman Sofiya Tsitavets was named the MEAC Women's Tennis Rookie of the Week. 

Abdul Hakim (Jr., Jakarta, Indonesia) went undefeated in both singles and doubles play at the MEAC Round Up, helping the Eagles secure a 4-0 record in conference play. He won all six matches he competed in, including a 6-0, 6-0 win against Harsh Kheterpal of Coppin State and a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory over Makkijha Brown of Morgan State. Abdul Hakim is currently on a six-match singles winning streak. In doubles action Abdul Hakim and partner Oliver Saarinen led the Eagles to three doubles victories, including a 6-0 win against Coppin State’s Abdurakhmonov and Thomas-Cogar.  

Chambers (So., Wellington, Fla.) dominated in singles play, winning all three of her matches in straight sets. She registered two 6-0, 6-4 victories over Teodora Vujicic (SCSU) and Sabrina Iurea (NSU), extending her singles winning streak to seven matches. She also went 2-1 in doubles with wins against doubles pairs from S.C. State (6-4) and N.C. Central (6-2). 

Tsitavets (Fr., Minsk, Belarus) had an impressive week at No. 1 singles, going 2-1 for the Spartans. She secured a tough three-set victory (4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2) over Morgan State’s Lauryn Hall followed by a 6-3, 6-3 win against Delaware State’s Lucia Casas Blas at the MEAC tennis round up. Tsitavets also dominated in doubles play with partner Ines Sabadie, going 4-0 across all matches. 

Other Top Performers 
  • Kit Yi Kaye Au-Yeung (DSU - W) went 2-1 in singles, including a (7-6 (7-5), 6-2) win over NCCU's Alejandra Hidalgo Vega, while finishing 2-1 in doubles. 
  • Victoria Linkovski (DSU - W) went 1-2 in her singles matchups, with her lone win coming in a tight three-set match against South Carolina State’s Teodora Vujicic. 
  • Valeria San Miguel Soria (NCCU - W) went undefeated (4-0) in singles, while also finishing 2-2 with teammate Mariana Zottoli in doubles action. 
  • Mariana Zottoli (NCCU - W) went 2-2 in singles, securing straight-set wins over Howard’s Jordan Grayson and Coppin State’s Megan Etienne. In doubles, Zottoli also posted a 2-2 record, helping NCCU earn key wins over Coppin State and Morgan State. 
  • Mikeal Carpenter (MSU - M) went 3-0 in singles matches at the MEAC roundup. He opened with a (6-2, 6-0) win over South Carolina State’s Mikalai Bankou before battling through a three-set match against North Carolina Central’s Hugo Hidalgo, securing a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. Carpenter capped off the event with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Norfolk State’s Vladisav Gorbatenko improving to 8-1 in singles overall. 
  • Deniz Okyay (NSU - M) went 3-0 at No.3 singles securing wins against Marcel Dawson (HU), Liam Murtaugh (CSU) and Bertin Karenzi (MSU). Okyay also had a strong showing in doubles, winning two of three matches, with his match against Coppin State going unfinished (5-4).