NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State tennis teams will close out the regular season and aim for outright MEAC Northern Division titles on both sides as the two squads play at home this weekend. The Spartans will host Morgan State on Saturday to close out conference play, while the women's team will also play a pair of matches on Sunday.
 
Due to the forecast of high winds on Saturday, the matches against the Bears have been moved indoors to the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center at ODU. They will now begin at 4:30 p.m.
 
The Norfolk State women's team will also play two non-conference matches on Sunday at the NSU Tennis Complex. The Spartans will honor Andrea Macchiavello at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday for Senior Day before playing North Carolina Central at 11 a.m. NSU also welcomes Notre Dame to town for a matchup at 5 p.m.
 
The women (5-0) have already clinched at least a share of the Northern Division crown and can clinch the outright title with a victory over Morgan State (3-1), which still has to play at Hampton on Sunday. Howard currently owns a 5-1 record in the conference, with its only loss to NSU.
 
This year marks the ninth season of divisional play in tennis and the first that the Spartan women will have clinched first place. NSU finished 3-1 in the Southern Division in 2008 and 9-1 overall in 2003 when the league played a round robin schedule, finishing second both times.
 
The Spartan men can clinch the outright title as well on Saturday against the Bears. Morgan State currently sits 3-0 in conference play with NSU at 4-0. The Bears still have the match at Hampton on Sunday to close out divisional play.
 
Norfolk State finished tied for first in the Southern Division in 2013 at 3-1 while also finishing second in 2014 (3-1) and in 2006 (9-1) and '07 (7-2) in the round robin format.
 
NSU will honor Macchiavello on Sunday morning before the contest against the Eagles. The Spartans have just two seniors on this year's team in Macchiavello and Mafalda Lhorca, the latter of whom was honored last year as a senior before deciding to return for a post-grad semester this spring and her last year of eligibility.
 
Macchiavello has been a regular member of the ITA Scholar-Athlete Team and the VaSID Academic All-State Team, among other academic awards. She has been a regular part of the lineup, posting a .500 or better record in singles play in each of her four seasons as well as in doubles her first three years.
 
The Spartan men do not have any upperclassmen this season.
 
The women's team owns an 8-9 overall record this year, while the Norfolk State men carry a 6-14 overall mark into their record season finale against Morgan State. Both teams have already qualified for the MEAC tournament, which begins next Thursday at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.