NORFOLK, Va. – After defeating Howard to begin conference play, the Norfolk State men's tennis team will host Longwood on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the NSU Tennis Complex in its last home match of the season. The Spartans will then travel across the Chesapeake Bay to take on Hampton on Monday afternoon in a key Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern Division matchup at the Neilson-Screen Tennis Stadium at 1 p.m.

Longwood is 11-5 heading into the weekend, but is just 2-3 in the last five games. The Lancers have faced three MEAC teams, including two from the Northern Division. They are 3-0 against the conference, with victories over North Carolina A&T, Morgan State and Hampton. Longwood defeated North Carolina A&T 6-1 on Feb. 18, Morgan State 4-0 on March 19, and Hampton 5-2 on Tuesday.

The Spartans defeated Howard 5-2 in a hotly contested match last Sunday at home to improve to 1-6 on the season. The first MEAC contest of the year for NSU was decided by three matches that went to third-set tie-breakers, with Norfolk State claiming victory in two of those.

Norfolk State and Hampton, meanwhile, met in Florida during spring break on March 8, with the Pirates coming away with a 7-0 victory. However, the Spartans have added two players since the first meeting and will be at full strength when the two teams meet on Monday. Hampton is 4-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

Norfolk State is currently tied with Morgan State atop the MEAC Northern Division standings with matching 1-0 records, while Hampton sits in third. The top four teams in the Northern Division qualify for the MEAC Championship. With only three conference matches left for the Spartans, each one is critical.

Freshman Vini Da Silva leads the team with four wins, including victories in both matches he has played at the No. 2 singles position. He has paired with Andres Alcaraz at the No. 1 doubles position, earning two of the three doubles victories for the Spartans.