NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State men's tennis junior
Vini Da Silva picked up first team All-MEAC accolades as the conference office released postseason honors on Tuesday.
The native of Aracaju, Brazil made the six-person first team following a 6-4 campaign at No. 1 singles. Da Silva won four of his last five decisions to close out the regular season, helping the Spartans (5-8, 2-1 MEAC) to their fourth-consecutive winning mark in the Northern Division.
The all-conference recognition is the first of any kind in Da Silva's career. He becomes the eighth member of the NSU men's tennis program to earn first team All-MEAC honors.
The state of North Carolina swept all three major honors with North Carolina Central staking claim to both Player of the Year (Gabriel Cucalon) and Coach of the Year (D. Curtis Lawson). North Carolina A&T's Vasil Ivanov was named the Rookie of the Year.
Voting was done by the conference's sports information directors and coaches.
2019 Men's Tennis All-MEAC
Player of the Year: Gabriel Cucalon, North Carolina Central
Rookie of the Year: Vasil Ivanov, North Carolina A&T
Coach of the Year: D. Curtis Lawson, North Carolina Central
First Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Victor Bravo |
R-Sr. |
Bethune-Cookman |
Santiago, Chile |
| Juan Navarro |
Sr. |
Bethune-Cookman |
Bogota, Columbia |
| Nihit Rawal |
Jr. |
Morgan State |
Chandigarh, India |
| Vini Da Silva |
Jr. |
Norfolk State |
Aracaju, Brazil |
| Vasil Ivanov |
Fr. |
N.C. A&T |
Kardzhali, Bulgaria |
| Gabriel Cucalon |
Sr. |
N.C. Central |
Guayaquil, Ecuador |
Second Team
| Name |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Victor Castro |
Fr. |
Bethune-Cookman |
Marilia, Brazil |
| Jose Plazas |
Sr. |
Bethune-Cookman |
Bogota, Columbia |
| Illya Skoromnyy |
Sr. |
Florida A&M |
Brovary, Ukraine |
| Roger Lyn |
So. |
Howard |
Kingston, Jamaica |
| Oguzhan Ceylan |
So. |
Morgan State |
Izmur, Turkey |
| Marcelo Ramirez |
So. |
S.C. State |
Panama City, Panama |
