CARY, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University men's tennis team will play in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tennis Championship match for the second year in a row after a 4-2 semifinal victory over Norfolk State University on Friday at the Cary Tennis Park.
NC Central (9-14) entered the match as the three seed going up against No.2 Norfolk State. In the only meeting between the two teams this season, NSU defeated NCCU 5-2 in early April.
The Eagles started strong and captured the doubles point giving NCCU the one-point advantage heading into singles competition. Sophomore Kareem Abdul Hakim and junior Oliver Saarinen were victorious 7-5 in No.1 Doubles.
After the Spartans evened things out with a win in No.3 Doubles, it was up to junior Hugo Hidalgo Vega and freshman Leo Fortier-Gariepy to close it out. The duo needed a tiebreaker to determine the winner of No.2 Doubles. NC Central's pair won the tiebreaker 8-6 over NSU collecting a 7-6 victory.
With the Eagles needing three additional points in singles to clinch the match Abdul Hakim, Hidalgo Vega and sophomore Naresh Bharathy secured the win for NCCU.
Abdul Hakim completed his No.2 Singles match first giving the maroon and gray a 2-0 lead. He triumphed in a pair of 6-2 sets over Norfolk State's Deniz Okyay.
NSU (11-11) tied up the match with wins in No.3 and No.6 Singles. Bharathy battled in No.4 Singles for three sets to give the Eagles the lead again. He won the first (6-3) and third (7-5) sets bringing NC Central closer to victory.
In another three-set match, Hidalgo Vega played from behind throughout the first and second set. He was able to take the first set in No.1 Singles, 6-4. After falling in the second due to a tiebreaker, Hidalgo Vega didn't give up a game in the third set securing a spot in the championship match for the Eagles and his 14th straight singles win.
For the third consecutive year, the Eagles will meet up with South Carolina State University at the MEAC Tennis Championships. In 2022, NCCU fell to the Bulldogs in the semifinals and last season SCSU came out on top over the Eagles in the finals. The championship match is set for Saturday, April 27 at noon inside the Cary Tennis Park. Live streaming will be available on ESPN+.
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