CARY, N.C. – The Norfolk State men's tennis team joined its women's program in the 2026 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship match, defeating No. 2 seed North Carolina Central 4-1 in the semifinals on Friday at Cary Tennis Park.
With the win, the Spartans improve to 14-10 overall and advance to their first MEAC title match since 2021. The appearance marks just the third championship berth in program history.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Norfolk State rallied in doubles play to secure the opening point. After dropping the No. 1 match, the Spartans responded with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 flights.
Boris Lunin and Szymon Janzen earned a 6-3 victory over Naresh Bharathy and Antoni Pankowski at No. 2 doubles, before Szymon Malecki and Marcin Andrzejczak clinched the point with a 7-5 win over Pol Puig Montiel and Leo Fortier at No. 3.
In singles play, the teams battled through several tightly contested matches, with multiple courts extending deep into sets.
Kasper Kulpa gave the Spartans a 2-0 lead with a 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 6 singles. North Carolina Central answered at No. 5 to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Malecki pushed the lead back to two with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Rodrigo Alves at No. 2 singles.
Dominik Simunovic delivered the clinching point in a hard-fought three-set match at No. 4, defeating former Spartan Antoni Pankowski 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to secure the 4-1 victory.
At the time of the clinch, Marcin Andrzejczak held a 6-4, 6-5 lead at No. 1 singles, while Szymon Janzen was tied 5-5 in the second set at No. 3 after dropping the opening set.
ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
Norfolk State fell to the Bulldogs 6-1 during the regular season in Orangeburg, S.C.
The Spartans and Bulldogs have met 11 times in the MEAC Tournament, with South Carolina State holding a 10-1 advantage. Norfolk State's lone tournament win in the series came in 1999 with a 4-1 victory in the opening round.
UP NEXT
Norfolk State will compete for its first MEAC Championship in program history on Saturday, facing South Carolina State at 12 p.m. at Cary Tennis Park. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
