CARY, N.C. – The Norfolk State men's tennis team fell 5-2 to North Carolina Central on Saturday afternoon at Cary Tennis Park. With the loss, the Spartans move to 12-10 overall and 3-2 in MEAC play and will enter the MEAC Tennis Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
North Carolina Central gained early momentum by sweeping all three doubles matches to secure the opening point. Naresh Bharathy and Antoni Pankowski defeated Boris Lunin and Marcin Dójczynski 6-3 at No. 2 doubles, while Leo Fortier-Gariepy and Pol Puig Montiel earned a 7-5 win over Szymon Janzen and Przemek Nikolajuk at No. 3 to clinch the point. Rodrigo Alves and Kareem Abdul Hakim completed the sweep with a 7-6 (7-3) victory over Marcin Andrzejczak and Szymon Malecki at the top spot.
In singles play, the Spartans picked up two points, but the Eagles secured the team victory by winning four matches overall.
Dominik Simunovic put Norfolk State on the board with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles over former Spartan Antoni Pankowski. NCCU responded by claiming the next three matches at the top three flights to take a 4-1 lead.
Kasper Kulpa added NSU's second point with a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Pol Puig Montiel at the No. 6 position. North Carolina Central closed out the match with a win at No. 4 singles to secure the 5-2 decision.
Singles
- No. 1 – Naresh Bharathy (NCCU) def. Marcin Andrzejczak – 6-4, 7-5
- No. 2 – Rodrigo Alves (NCCU) def. Szymon Malecki – 6-1, 6-3
- No. 3 – Kareem Abdul Hakim (NCCU) def. Patryk Kowal – 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
- No. 4 – Santiago Pinna (NCCU) def. Szymon Janzen – 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
- No. 5 – Dominik Simunovic (NSU) def. Antoni Pankowski – 6-2, 6-3
- No. 6 – Kasper Kulpa (NSU) def. Pol Puig Montiel – 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
- Order of Finish: 5, 2, 3, 1, 6, 4
Doubles
UP NEXT
Norfolk State returns home next weekend for the second annual Nat Warren Tennis Invitational, sponsored by TowneBank, April 17-19. The event serves as a UTR rankings tournament ahead of the 2026 MEAC Tennis Tournament, set for April 23-25 at Cary Tennis Park.
