CARY, N.C. – The North Carolina Central men's tennis team wrapped up conference play with a 5-2 victory over Norfolk State on Saturday afternoon at Cary Tennis Park.

NCCU (12-7, 4-1 MEAC) bounced back after dropping a conference match earlier in the week. The Eagles finished second in the MEAC standings behind South Carolina State.

The Eagles started strong in doubles, winning all three matches to claim the first point heading into singles play.

The Spartans evened the match with a win at No. 5 singles, but NC Central responded with three straight singles victories from a trio of seniors.

Rodrigo Alves handled No. 2 singles with a 6-1, 6-3 win. Kareem Abdul Hakim followed with a three-set thriller at No. 3 singles, taking the first and third sets. Naresh Bharathy clinched the match at No. 1 singles with a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

After the Spartans picked up their second point at No. 6 singles, freshman Santiago Pinna closed out the day by defeating Szymon Janzen at the No. 4 position, sealing the win after a second-set tiebreaker.

Norfolk State (12-10, 3-2 MEAC) has now suffered its only conference losses to South Carolina State and NC Central.

NCCU will host Shaw on Friday, April 17 at 1 p.m. at the NCCU Tennis Courts in its final regular-season match. The Eagles will honor their five seniors in a pre-match ceremony.

For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.