CARY, N.C. – The Norfolk State men's tennis team garnered historic postseason conference accolades, unveiled by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) on Wednesday evening at the Tennis Awards Ceremony.
 
Five Spartans were named to All-MEAC teams – the most in program history. Jakub Solarski was named MEAC Men's Tennis Rookie of the Year, the first Spartan to win the award since Benedikt Henning in 2016.
 
Deniz Okyay was named to the All-MEAC First Team alongside teammate Frederick McRae. Solarski, Vladisav Gorbatenko, and Antoni Pankowski earned All-MEAC Second Team honors.
 
Okyay, a freshman from Ankara, Turkey, adapted extremely quickly to collegiate tennis, posting a 12-7 overall singles record. Eight of those victories came at the No. 3 position, with three at the No. 2 slot and one at No. 5. He held a 4-1 record in conference play and picked up a 6-4, 6-1 nonconference triumph against Wagner #2 Jordan Hunte.
 
McRae owns the best singles record on the Spartan squad, producing a 16-3 overall mark, 5-0 in MEAC matches. The sophomore transfer takes a 12-match singles win streak into the MEAC Tennis Championships, highlighted by a 7-6, 7-5 victory over South Carolina State #4 Benjamin Niv.
 
Solarski played high in the lineup as a true freshman, competing primarily at the No. 2 position. Holding an 11-10 singles record and 12-7 doubles mark, he went 7-3 at the top doubles slot. Solarski picked up multiple impressive nonconference wins, defeating Navy #3 Nathan Nguyen 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 and Hofstra #2 Josh Reynolds 7-6, 6-4.
 
Gorbatenko stood atop the Norfolk State lineup for nearly the entire season, racking up nine wins at the No. 1 singles position. A 6-7 sophomore from Saint-Petersburg, Russia, he took down Temple #1 Martim Marujo 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7) to open the 2024 campaign. He found a groove alongside McRae in doubles, going 8-5  as a pair and 4-1 in MEAC play.
 
Pankowkski also made an immediate impact in his first year of collegiate tennis, going 13-4 in singles with 11 wins at the No. 5 position. He played all his doubles matches with Solarski, going 12-7 including wins at the top slot against North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T, and Hampton to close the regular season.
 
Norfolk State (11-10, 4-1 MEAC) enters the 2024 MEAC Tennis Championships as the No. 2 overall seed, earning a first-round bye. The Spartans will meet No. 3 seed North Carolina Central or No. 6 seed Coppin State in the semifinals at 12 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 26.
 
2024 Men's All-MEAC Awards
Player of the Year: Hugo Hidalgo Vega (NCCU)
Rookie of the Year: Jakub Solarski (NSU)
Coach of the Year: Hardeep Judge (SCSU)
 
First-Team All-MEAC
Hugo Hidalgo Vega (NCCU)
Novak Novakovic (SCSU)
Mikalai Bankou (SCSU)
Mikeal Carpenter (MSU)
Deniz Okyay (NSU)
Frederick McRae (NSU)
 
Second Team All-MEAC
Jakub Solarski (NSU)
Michael Major Jr. (HU)
Antoni Pankowski (NSU_
Aissa Benchakroun (SCSU)
Vladisav Gorbatenko (NSU)
Kareem Abdul Hakim (NCCU)