Women's Tennis | 4/25/2025 6:36:00 PM

CARY, N.C., April 24, 2025 - The top two seeds in the 2025 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Women's Tennis Tournament, No. 1 South Carolina State and No. 2 North Carolina Central, advance to Saturday's championship match at Cary Tennis Park on April 25, 2025. First serve is set for 9 A.M. broadcasting live on ESPN+.

No. 1 South Carolina State (SCSU) defeated No. 4 Norfolk State (NSU), 4-0, while No. 2 North Carolina Central University (NCCU) secured a 4-2 victory over No. 6 Morgan State University (MSU) stamping their place in the championship match. 

Match 6: No. 1 South Carolina State def. No. 4 Norfolk State (W) | 4-0 

The South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs showcased their dominance with a commanding 4-0 victory over the Norfolk State Spartans to appear in their sixth consecutive MEAC championship match.  

The Lady Bulldogs secured the doubles point by winning two of the three matches. Sofya Chursina and Hind Semlali (SCSU) defeated Angelina Maniawska and Irina Iurea (NSU) 6-0 at No. 1 doubles to give the Lady Bulldogs the initial advantage. 

Norfolk State's Caroline Nicholls and Yuliya Yurkova won the No. 3 doubles match against Ashikha Amalnathan and Valeria Teran (6-4) to even things up as only No. 2 doubles remained.  

S.C. State's Nalanda Teixeira de Silva and Teodora Vujicic edged out Sofiya Tsitavets and Ines Sabadie 7-5 at No. 2 doubles to secure the doubles point for the Lady Bulldogs who entered singles action up 1-0 on the scoreboard. 

South Carolina State continued their strong performance in singles play as Nalanda Teixeira de Silva dominated Ines Sabadie 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 singles to give S.C. State a 2-0 lead. 

Sofya Chursina was the next Lady Bulldog to claim a point for her team defeating Sofiya Tsitavets 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. 

Hind Semlali clinched the match for S.C. State upending Yuliya Yurkova in a tiebreaker 6-1, 7-6 [7-5] at No. 2 singles. 

The remaining singles matches were unfinished, as the Lady Bulldogs had already clinched the overall victory.  

With the win, South Carolina State advanced to their sixth consecutive MEAC Championship match where they will face No. 2 North Carolina Central. 

Match 7: No. 2 North Carolina Central def. No. 6 Morgan State (W) | 4-2 

North Carolina Central will make their first program appearance in the MEAC Championship match after defeating Morgan State 4-2 in the semifinals on Friday, April 25. 

N.C. Central clinched the doubles point with decisive wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. 

Patricia Palencia and Gabriela Mejia defeated Lauryn Hall and Hannah Smith 6-3. Fellow Eagles, Mariana Zottoli and Valeria San Miguel overcame Julia Jeffrey and Tyler Williams 6-2 to put N.C. Central 1-0 heading into singles.  

The singles matches were tightly contested, with most sets stretching deep into the game count and keeping fans on edge throughout. 

Alejandra Hidalgo Vega (NCCU) beat Hannah Smith (MSU) 7-5, 6-3 at No. 1 singles to put the Eagles up 2-0. Morgan State garnered its first team point from Julia Jeffrey, who defeated Mariana Zottoli 6-3, 6-3. 

N.C. Central increased their advantage to 3-1 following a tough three-set battle at No. 2 singles from Valeria San Miguel, who edged out Lauryn Hall in a tiebreaker (6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7)). 

Marta Serra Carles pulled the Bears back within one, 3-2, following a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Valentina De Aquino. 

N.C. Central's Patricia Palencia clinched the match point with a 6-2, 7-5 victory at No. 4 singles defeating Aleksandra Evdokimova (MSU) 6-2, 7-5.  

With the win, N.C. Central advances to the MEAC Championship final to face S.C. State. 

For additional information, including brackets, team info, and live scoring, please visit the Tennis Championship Central page at MEACSports.com.