Women's Bracket Men's Bracket
NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State tennis teams will compete at the 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships beginning on Thursday when the quarterfinal rounds get underway at Old Dominion University's Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center in Norfolk.
The tournaments, featuring the top four finishers from each division in the MEAC, will take place from Thursday through Saturday and are free and open to the public. The Spartan women will face North Carolina A&T in their quarterfinal matchup at 11 a.m. Thursday. The Spartan men take on North Carolina Central at 4 p.m. in their quarterfinal contest.
The Norfolk State women earned the No. 2 seed from the Northern Division after posting a 4-2 record in conference play. The Spartans and Morgan State finished the regular season tied for second place in the division, but the Spartans earned the tie-breaker due to their victory over the Bears last Saturday. North Carolina A&T earned the No. 3 seed from the South after going 3-2 in its division. Norfolk State finished 6-7 overall and the Aggies enter the tournament with a 5-13 overall record.
On Tuesday, junior
Dajana Cvjetkovic garnered All-MEAC second team honors when the conference office announced its postseason awards. She posted a 5-1 record in division play as well as a 6-7 overall singles record, while adding three doubles victories in league play. Freshmen
Paula Fortuno and
Bruna Goncalves and senior
Liza Gordeeva finished the regular season with winning records. Fortuno led the team in singles victories, with nine. She went 9-4 overall and 4-2 in MEAC play. Goncalves was 7-4 overall and 4-0 in league play, while finishing the season with five consecutive victories. Gordeeva was 4-3 on the season, with three of the wins coming against Northern Division foes.
Aranza Mellet fared well against league competition, finishing 2-2 in four conference singles contests and 3-1 in doubles.
The Norfolk State men secured the No. 2 seed from the North, falling only to Morgan State on Saturday to finish conference play at 3-1. The Spartans own a 3-8 overall record, while North Carolina Central carries a 7-14 mark into the matchup.
Freshman
Vini Da Silva and sophomore
Dan Dumitrascu led the team in singles wins with five apiece, while freshman
Ignacio Guevel went a perfect 4-0 in Northern Division singles action and will head into the conference tournament on a three match-winning streak. Freshman
Andres Alcaraz went 4-7 at both the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles positions during his rookie campaign.
Also, Gordeeva earned MEAC All-Academic Honors, the league announced on Wednesday. She has been named to the team each season she has been eligible. MEAC sophomore, junior and senior student-athletes with a 3.0 or better cumulative grade point average (GPA), as well as transfer student-athletes who have been in residence at the institution for at least one year, are eligible for All-Academic accolades.
The tournament kicks off with two quarterfinal matches on the women's side beginning at 8:30 a.m. and two more at 11 a.m. The first two quarterfinal contests on the men's side will start at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, with the final two starting at 4.
The women's semifinals begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, with the men's semis starting at noon. The women's championship match will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, followed by the men's championship at noon.
Women's Quarterfinals – Thursday, April 20
Match 1: (N1) Hampton vs. (S4) Florida A&M – 8:30 a.m.
Match 2: (S1) South Carolina State vs. (N4) Howard – 8:30 a.m.
Match 3: (S2) Bethune-Cookman vs. (N3) Morgan State – 11 a.m.
Match 4: (N2) Norfolk State vs. (S3) North Carolina A&T – 11 a.m.
Women's Semifinals - Friday, April 21
Match 9: Match 1 winner vs. Match 3 winner – 9 a.m.
Match 10: Match 2 winner vs. Match 4 winner – 9 a.m.
Women's Championship - Saturday, April 22
Match 13: Match 9 winner vs. Match 10 winner – 9 a.m.
Men's Quarterfinals – Thursday, April 20
Match 5: (N1) Morgan State vs. (S4) North Carolina A&T – 1:30 p.m.
Match 6: (S1) South Carolina State vs. (N4) Howard – 1:30 p.m.
Match 7: (S2) Florida A&M vs. (N3) Hampton – 4 p.m.
Match 8: (N2) Norfolk State vs. (S3) North Carolina Central – 4 p.m.
Men's Semifinals - Friday, April 21
Match 11: Match 5 winner vs. Match 7 winner – Noon
Match 12: Match 6 winner vs. Match 8 winner – Noon
Men's Championship - Saturday, April 22
Match 14: Match 11 winner vs. Match 12 winner – Noon
