NORFOLK, Va. – No. 1-seeded Norfolk State women's tennis saw its run through the MEAC Tournament end early by way of a 4-0 quarterfinal loss to No. 4-seeded Bethune-Cookman on Thursday morning at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center on the campus of Old Dominion University.
The Lady Wildcats (6-10) seized the initiative early with two comfortable victories to take the doubles point.
On the second court,
Paula Fortuno and
Joyce Fields fell to Michelle Ncube and Karen Romero, 6-3, before Rehaana Butt and Afrika Smith sealed up with point with a 6-1 win over
Naz Karagoz and
Zoe Fraser at top-seeded doubles.
The doubles flight on the third court ended in a 3-3 deadlock.
A pair of two-set losses put the Spartans (5-9) behind 3-0.
Sheerly Bueno downed
Adriana Strode – 6-0, 6-2 – on the sixth court, and Fields lost to Chalina Godbolt at No. 4 singles by a 6-4 margin in both sets.
On the second court, Butt outlasted Fortuno in three sets to clinch the match. The second team All-MEAC honoree won the first set, 6-1, before Fortuno rallied with a 6-4 victory in the second. Butt then won the match for B-CU with a 6-4 win in the third set.
Two of the three unfinished matches went to a third set.
In a top-tier clash on the first court, Karagoz, the conference's player of the year, took the first set by a 6-4 score before Ncube, the rookie of the year, answered with a 6-4 victory in the second. Karagoz trailed Ncube, 3-2, in the third set when the match finished.
Fraser overcame a first-set loss to force a third set in her third-seeded flight against Phatsimo Ruele. The sophomore from Virginia Beach fell 7-6 in the opener before blanking Ruele, 6-0, in the second set. Fraser trailed 3-2 in the third when the match ended.
The second set of Goncalves' match with Romero hung in the balance at the time of the match's conclusion. Goncalves won the first set, 6-4, and the second set ended in a 6-6 stalemate.
The tournament continues tomorrow at 9 a.m. with both women's semifinals. The women's final is set for 9 a.m. on Saturday.
