CARY, N.C. – North Carolina Central women's tennis opened the first round of the 2026 MEAC Tennis Championships with a 4-1 victory over No. 5 Delaware State on Thursday morning at Cary Tennis Park. With the win, the No. 4 Eagles advance to the semifinals, where they will face top-seeded Morgan State.

NCCU (10-9) swept Delaware State in their regular-season meeting and was looking to come away with another victory over the Hornets. The Eagles claimed the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead.

Delaware State (3-12) responded by evening the score in singles play, as Lucia Casas Blas earned a win at No. 2.

Mariana Zottoli regained the lead for NCCU with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Sia Mahajan in the No. 4 position. Patricia Palencia followed with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles to extend the advantage to 3-1. Alejandra Hidalgo Vega then clinched the match for the Eagles, defeating Catherine Goldman 7-5, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles position.

NCCU will face the MSU Bears on Friday, April 24 at 9 a.m., with a spot in the championship match on the line at Cary Tennis Park.

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