CARY, NC—South Carolina State senior Mikalai Bankou posted and impressive performance capturing the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Individual Singles Championship Saturday (Oct. 4) in the finals at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, NC.

Bankou defeated teammate Iliyas Muratuly 6-2 6-2 in the finals in singles play.

In men's doubles action, Bankou and freshman Bastian Zamora rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win over North Carolina Central's Tim Kohl and Rodrigo Alves in the final. The Bulldog duo advanced with a 7-5, 6-4 quarterfinal win over Howard's Kaosie Nwokedi and Marcus Weekes, followed by a 6-2, 6-2 semifinal victory against NCCU's Naresh Mithran Bharathy and Antoni Pankowski.
 
On the women's side Valeria Teran reached the finals of the singles event and lost a hard-fought contest 7-5 2-6 6-3.

For Bankou, the doubles championship capped off a remarkable tournament, as he also secured the men's singles title earlier in the day. This year's crown is South Carolina State's first men's doubles championship at the Invitational, after NCCU placed both finalists in 2024.
 
With their victories, both doubles teams clinched the MEAC's automatic qualifying spots in the ITA Conference Masters.

South Carolina State head coach Hardeep Judge stated, "On the men's side l was so impressed with the play of Mikalai, Bastian and Iliyas. On the women's side Valeria had a great tournament with finals run in singles and a strong semifinal showing with partner Ashikha Amalnathan in doubles."

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South Carolina State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently fields teams in 14 sports: women'svolleyball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track & field, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, women's soccer and football with all teams competing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), except for women's soccer.
 
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