DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University junior Hugo Hidalgo Vega of men's tennis was named the 2024 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year and joined sophomore Kareem Abdul Hakim as an All-MEAC selection announced by the league on Wednesday evening.

Hidalgo Vega (Madrid, Spain) went 15-3 in singles during the regular season, winning all five MEAC matches in the No.1 Singles slot. He is on a twelve-match winning streak in singles that started in late February with a win over Brigham Young University. Hidalgo Vega has won the MEAC Player of the Week honor five times this spring. 

In his first year in the conference after transferring from Chicago State University, Hidalgo Vega was also named to the All-MEAC First Team.

The last Eagle to win conference Player of the Year was Gabriel Cucalon in 2019. Cucalon is now an assistant coach with the program.

Abdul Hakim (Jakarta, Indonesia) was selected to the All-MEAC Second Team for the second season in a row. He battled tough competition in the No.2 Singles spot throughout the spring defeating two conference opponents, Norfolk State and Coppin State. The victory over NSU came against MEAC First Team player Deniz Okyay in early April. 
 
The MEAC All-Academic selections for the 2023-24 academic year were also announced as seven Eagles were named to the list. Hidalgo Vega, Abdul Hakim, Lucas Artigas, Naresh Bharathy, Shaka Cristellotti, Oliver Saarinen and Neiman Sneed all earned the honor.

NCCU (7-14, 3-2 MEAC) opens the postseason at the Cary Tennis Park on Thursday, April 25 at the 2024 MEAC Tennis Championships. The third-seeded Eagles face No.6 Coppin State University at 2 p.m.

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