RALEIGH, N.C. - The South Carolina State University Lady Bulldogs and Howard University Lady Bison will compete Sunday in the 2011 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tennis Championship women's final beginning at 9 a.m. The men's championship finale featuring the South Carolina State University Bulldogs and the Florida A&M University Rattlers is slated for Noon at the Millbrook Tennis Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Due to the chance of rain both the quarterfinals and semifinals were played on yesterday. In quarterfinals action it was the Lady Bulldogs sweeping Morgan State 4-0, while the Bulldogs swept singles matches at the number two and three positions, clinching the win with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of UMES's Osvaldo Rivera by David Grund
In semifinals action, the reigning MEAC Champion South Carolina State Lady Bulldogs, who earned the top seed in the south, defeated No. 2 Delaware State Lady Hornets 4-0. The Lady Bulldogs' took the lead going into singles play after winning the doubles points at the number two (8-2) and number three (8-2) spots. In singles action, S.C. State won in straight sets at the number one, two and six positions for a chance to compete for their seventh straight MEAC women's tennis title and eighth overall.
“I am very proud of our team and it's always good to be back in the championship game,” said SC State head coach Hardeep Judge. “The women got off to a slow start against Delaware State but was able to fight back and win doubles point.”
Howard, the top seed in the north defeated No. 2 Florida A&M, 4-0, and will vie for their first tennis championship title since the 1995 season. The two teams met a year ago in the championship finale with South Carolina State winning 4-1.
On the men's side, top seeded South Carolina State defeated the No. 3 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats to earn their place in tomorrow's title match. The Bulldogs swept the doubles point winning 8-0, 8-0 to take the early lead. The 2011 MEAC Player of the Year Dmytro Kovalevych defeated Emil Vassilev (6-2, 6-1) at the number two spot, while SCSU's Peteris Vinogradous topped Kristofer Martin (6-0,6-2) at the number four spot. Artemiy Nikitin, the 2011 MEAC Rookie of the Year, aided the defending MEAC Champion Bulldogs to a 4-0 sweep of Bethune-Cookman and a trip to Sunday's championship finale.
In the second men's semifinal matchup, the Florida A&M Rattlers defeated the No. 4 Norfolk State 4-0. The Rattlers will face the Bulldogs in the men's championship final on Sunday at noon
Judge stated, “We need to play well Howard is a very good team and FAMU has always given us problems in the past.”
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