CARY, N.C. – The Norfolk State men's and women's tennis programs return to the court this weekend, traveling to Cary, N.C. for the 2026 MEAC Tennis Invitational, scheduled for Friday through Sunday, Oct. 2-4 at Cary Tennis Park.
The three-day individual tournament will feature men's and women's singles and doubles draws, giving the Spartans an opportunity to compete against conference opponents during the fall season. Competition begins Friday morning, with championship matches scheduled for Sunday.
Norfolk State will have two representatives in each singles draw along with two doubles teams on both the men's and women's sides.
Women's Singles
Yuliya Yurkova enters the women's singles bracket as the No. 4 seed. She will open the tournament against Coppin State's Brandy Babcock-Hannah at 9 a.m. Friday. A victory would advance Yurkova to a noon quarterfinal against either Kamora Helton of Delaware State or Katerina Marsalkova of South Carolina State. Yurkova is coming off a strong 2026 spring campaign in which she earned All-MEAC First Team honors.
Julia Daroszewska will also represent the Spartans in singles action. Daroszewska faces Howard's Franchesca Brown at 9 a.m. Friday, with the winner advancing to meet either third-seeded Tyler Williams of Morgan State or Abigail Perue of Coppin State at noon.
The women's singles semifinals are set for 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by the championship match at 9 a.m. Sunday.
Women's Doubles
Yurkova and Daroszewska will join forces in doubles as the No. 2 seed. The Spartan duo received a first-round bye and will begin competition at 12:30 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Coppin State's Abigail Perue/Kennedy Proctor and Delaware State's Marta Bou Safont/Claudia Torrelles.
Norfolk State's second pairing of Kayla Kennedy and Ines Sabadie opens Friday at 2:30 p.m. against the fourth-seeded North Carolina Central tandem of Sara Barbaric and Marta Zottoli.
The women's doubles semifinals are scheduled for Saturday afternoon, with the championship slated for 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
Men's Singles
On the men's side, Szymon Malecki earned the No. 3 seed in the singles draw. Malecki received an opening-round bye and will make his tournament debut at 1:30 p.m. Friday against the winner of Angel Maffezzoli of North Carolina Central and Aziz Missaoui of Morgan State. Malecki earned All-MEAC First Team recognition following the 2026 spring season.
Marcin Andrzejczak, the No. 4 seed, also received a first-round bye. He will face the winner of Coppin State's Andre Dogbefu and Morgan State's Ilya Maltsev at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Andrzejczak earned All-MEAC Second Team honors last spring and was twice selected as the conference's Rookie of the Week.
The men's singles semifinals will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, with the championship scheduled for 9 a.m. Sunday.
Men's Doubles
Malecki and Andrzejczak will pair together as the No. 3 seed in men's doubles. After receiving an opening-round bye, the Spartan tandem will face the winner of North Carolina Central's Sergio Lopez Guillen/M. Nawa and Coppin State's Andre Dogbefu/Leshoele Mpho at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Marcin Dójczynski and Kasper Kulpa round out Norfolk State's doubles competitors. The duo will open against Coppin State's F. Henderson and D. Mortimer at 3:30 p.m. Friday. The winner advances to face second-seeded A. Aiukhanov/J. Augunas of South Carolina State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The men's doubles championship concludes the tournament at noon Sunday.
Norfolk State Opening Schedule
| Event |
Spartan(s) |
Opening Match |
| Women's Singles |
Julia Daroszewska |
vs. Franchesca Brown (Howard) – Fri., 9 a.m. |
| Women's Singles |
Yuliya Yurkova (4) |
vs. Brandy Babcock-Hannah (Coppin State) – Fri., 9 a.m. |
| Men's Singles |
Szymon Malecki (3) |
First-round bye; quarterfinal – Fri., 1:30 p.m. |
| Men's Singles |
Marcin Andrzejczak (4) |
First-round bye; quarterfinal – Fri., 1:30 p.m. |
| Women's Doubles |
Kennedy/Sabadie |
vs. Barbaric/Zottoli (NCCU) – Fri., 2:30 p.m. |
| Women's Doubles |
Daroszewska/Yurkova (2) |
First-round bye; quarterfinal – Sat., 12:30 p.m. |
| Men's Doubles |
Dójczynski/Kulpa |
vs. Henderson/Mortimer (Coppin State) – Fri., 3:30 p.m. |
| Men's Doubles |
Andrzejczak/Malecki (3) |
First-round bye; quarterfinal – Sat., 1 p.m. |
For complete coverage of Norfolk State tennis, follow @NSUSpartans on social media and visit NSUSpartans.com.
