NORFOLK, Va. – In just its second year under head coach Nate Feldman, the Spartan men's tennis team earned a share of first place in the MEAC's Southern Division for the first time ever by finishing regular-season play with a 3-1 conference record.
 
The Spartans knocked off five-time defending champion South Carolina State 4-3 and N.C. Central 4-0 back in February, then topped Bethune-Cookman 4-2 before dropping a 6-1 decision to Florida A&M in early March. The Bulldogs knocked off FAMU earlier this month, however, meaning that NSU, SCSU and FAMU ended the season tied for the top spot in the MEAC South with matching 3-1 records.
 
The conference tie-breaker – total points won against tied teams – resulted in FAMU (9 points, 6 vs. NSU, 3 v s. SCSU) taking the No. 1 seed, SCSU (7 points, 4 vs. FAMU, 3 vs. NSU) taking No. 2 and NSU (5 points, 1 vs. FAMU and 4 vs. SCSU) taking No. 3 in this week's MEAC Tennis Championships.
 
The men's tennis team's accomplishment marks yet another in a string of firsts for NSU athletic teams in the last two years. The Spartan football, men's basketball and women's bowling teams all earned their first-ever MEAC titles in the 2011-12 season. The men's basketball team then won its first-ever MEAC regular-season title this year, as did the men's tennis team.
 
In addition, the Spartan men's track team is in the midst of a MEAC-record streak of eight straight conference indoor titles and will seek its eighth consecutive MEAC outdoor championship next month. These accomplishments have the Spartans in line to win their ninth straight Talmadge Layman Hill Award, the MEAC men's all-sports trophy.