ATLANTA, Ga. – The North Carolina Central University men's and women's tennis teams took third place at the HBCU National Tennis Championships hosted at the South Fulton Tennis Center on Sept. 19-22. Junior Alejandra Hidalgo Vega won the women's A Singles Flight Championship as the one-seed. Sophomore Leo Fortier-Gariepy and freshman Antoni Pankowski triumphed in the men's B Doubles Flight Championship.
Gallery: (9-22-2024) NCCU Tennis at 2024 HBCU Championships
The women's team finished with 64 points to secure third place out of 20 schools. Alabama A&M University and Hampton University finished in first and second, respectively.
Hidalgo Vega beat every opponent she faced in singles during the weekend tournament, winning the Singles A Flight Championship. She defeated Meiri Okuwaki from Hampton, 6-2, 6-1 in the final.
Freshman Gabriela Mejia Arenas earned an 8-3 finals victory over Natalija Nikolic from Alcorn State University in the Flight C consolation draw. In the B Flight for Doubles, sophomore Patricia Palencia and junior Valeria San Miguel Soria fell short in the finals 7-6 against familiar conference foes Camilla Mitolo and Eva Golembiovski of Delaware State University.
The NCCU men's team totaled 82 points, finishing third out of 15 schools. The Eagles were five points out of first as Tennessee State University, who was tied with Alabama State University, won the head-to-head against the ASU Hornets 3-2 to break the tie.
Fortier-Gariepy and Pankowski defeated Gokalp Ayar and Sebastian Vaquero of Jackson State University 6-4 as the one seed in the Doubles B Flight bringing home the trophy.
Sophomore Kareem Abdul Hakim and senior Oliver Saarinen made it to the A Flight Doubles final but fell 7-5 to David Jeanne-Grandinot and Gordan Mileusnic of Alabama State. Pankowski would also make the finals but in the Singles C Flight dropping in three sets to Jackson State's Maas Schotanus. Senior Hugo Hidalgo Vega reached the semifinals in the men's A Singles Flight but was defeated in three sets by Jonasz Dziopak from Tennessee State.
Next up for both teams are the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Individual Championships held nearby in Cary, N.C. on Oct. 4-6 at the Cary Tennis Park.
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