DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central's men's tennis team collected three All-MEAC honors as Hugo Hidalgo Vega was named to the First Team, and Kareem Abdul Hakim and Rodrigo Alves were Second Team selections. Head coach D. Curtis Lawson was named the MEAC Men's Tennis Co-Coach of the Year, as voted by the conference's head tennis coaches and sports information directors.
Hidalgo Vega (Madrid, Spain) garnered a place on the All-MEAC First Team for a consecutive year. He went 12-4 in singles this season with a 4-1 conference record, racking up three MEAC Men's Player of the Week awards.
A highlight this season for Hidalgo Vega was his victory over Duke's Pedro Rodanes, who was ranked 38th in the nation in singles. The senior earned a ranking of his own after the triumph, earning a spot at 111th in the nation in singles competition, making NCCU history.
Rodrigo Alves (Porto, Portugal) makes his All-MEAC debut in his first year at NC Central after transferring to the Nest in the fall. Alves went 9-9 on the season, mainly dueling in the No.3 position.
In conference play, Alves was 3-2 in singles but also had a notable non-conference triumph against Davidson. Alves was Hidalgo Vega's doubles partner throughout the season. The duo went 10-4 and 4-1 in the MEAC together. His complete doubles record was 12-5.
Kareem Abdul Hakim (Jakarta, Indonesia) is no stranger to the All-MEAC honors team, as he has made his third appearance in a row to the Second Team. The junior finished the regular season 10-7 in singles and 3-2 when facing MEAC opponents, mainly in the No.2 position.
Abdul Hakim won the Men's Tennis MEAC Player of the Week honor two times this season. He has also been solid in doubles when paired with Oliver Saarinen. The two were 13-5 overall and undefeated in conference. Some of their non-conference victories include North Carolina, Duke and UNC Greensboro, with the latter's doubles team ranked 79th at the time.
D. Curtis Lawson is in his 25th season as NCCU's head men's tennis coach. The Eagles' 15-5 overall record is the most in the Division I era for the men's program. Lawson guided NC Central to a 4-1 record in MEAC play for its best conference finish in Division I. He also won the MEAC Coach of the Year award in 2019.
The Eagles earned a No.2 seed in the 2025 MEAC Men's Tennis Championships and will start the postseason versus the winner of Norfolk State and Coppin State. The Maroon & Gray's first serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. at the Cary Tennis Park on Friday, April 25.
The remaining 2025 All-MEAC selections are below.
2025 Men's Tennis All-MEAC Teams
Player of the Year: Mikeal Carpenter, Morgan State
Rookie of the Year: Kaosie Nwokedi, Howard
Coach of the Year: Hardeep Judge, S.C. State; D. Curtis Lawson, N.C. Central
1st team
Mikeal Carpenter, Morgan State
Jakub Solarski, Norfolk State
Hugo Hidalgo Vega, N.C. Central
Mikalai Bankou, S.C. State
Aissa Benchakroun, S.C. State
Novak Novakovic, S.C. State
2nd Team
Michael Major Jr., Howard
Frederick McRae, Norfolk State
Deniz Okyay, Norfolk State
Kareem Abdul Hakim, N.C. Central
Rodrigo Alves, N.C. Central
Iliyas Muratuly, S.C. State
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