CARY, N.C. – The freshman duo of
Isabelle Exsted and
Anaiah Jones won their doubles match and then they each picked a singles win to help lead North Carolina Central University to a 3-0 win over Delaware State University in the quarterfinals of the 2022 MEAC Women's Tennis Championship hosted by NCCU at the Cary Tennis Park on Thursday.
The fifth-seeded Eagles advance to the semifinals for the second time in their last four postseason appearances. NCCU (5-15 Overall) will play regular season champions and top-seeded Howard University in the semifinals on Friday at 9 a.m.
The fourth-seeded Hornets only won one doubles match on the day, as DSU's top doubles tandem won four straight games to rally for a 7-5 victory. Delaware State ended its season with a .500 record of 7-7.
The doubles victory by Exsted and Jones kept Delaware State off the board as both teams played with just four active players. Exsted and Jones won 6-3 for their first victory together.
Jones then put the Eagles on the board with a flawless 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles. Her first collegiate dual-match singles triumph was picked up against freshman Isyss Jones.
Freshman
Kennedy Hill needed just one more game in securing the next maroon and gray point. Hill, a Second Team All-MEAC selection in her rookie season, rolled past freshman Baluck Deang by a 6-0, 6-1 score. Hill's team-best 10th singles win came atop NCCU's lineup.
Exsted then clinched the postseason victory for the Eagles with a 7-6, 6-1 win over freshman Eva Golembiovski at No. 3 singles. Exsted's seventh singles win of her rookie campaigned included a 7-2 tiebreaker triumph to secure the first set.
