Women's Tennis | 3/17/2026 2:39:38 PM

NORFOLK, Va., Mar. 17, 2026 – Norfolk State junior Yuliya Yurkova was named the MEAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week.  Delaware State’s Alba Benedito earned MEAC Rookie of the Week honors. 

Yuliya Yurkova (Jr., Vitebsk, Belarus) went undefeated in both singles and doubles last week, defeating Shaw’s Tanaka Garikai 6-1, 6-1 and NCAT’s Hana El Sherif 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in singles. She also won both No. 1 doubles matches with partner Yana Klimchuk, including a 6-3 victory over Shaw and a 6-1 win over NCAT. 
 
Benedito (Fr., Valencia, Spain) helped clinch the doubles point against Rider, defeating Jolie Kaiser and Chloe Monachelli at No. 3 doubles with her partner, then followed with a dominant singles win at No. 4, 6-0, 6-4. 
 
Other Top Performers 

• Sara Barbaric (NCCU) helped NCCU go 1-0 on the week winning 7-6, 6-3 in No. 5 singles against George Mason’s Noelle Talarek and secured a 6-3 victory in No. 1 doubles alongside Patricia Palencia. 
• Alejandra Hidalgo Vega (NCCU) defeated George Mason's Cenan Liu in No. 1 singles 6-2, 6-4 on March 10 in Hilton Head Island, S.C. The Eagles defeated GMU 6-1, as the second match of the week against George Washington was rained out on March 12 during doubles. 
• Sia Mahajan (DSU) against Rider she earned victories at No. 3 doubles (6-3) and No. 2 singles, where she defeated Jolie Kaiser in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.