RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Hampton University men's tennis team, the Northern Division's No. 1 seed, performed great against No. 4 Norfolk State on Friday, but lost a tough one against South Carolina State in the semifinals of the 2010 MEAC Championships on Saturday at the Millbrook Tennis Center.
The Pirates defeated the Spartans 4-1 in Friday's quarterfinal round. First Team All-MEAC selection Nelio Mattos (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) extended his winning streak of four with a victory over Arsenio Culver 6-3, 4-3. Ben Marks gave the Spartans their only victory when he defeated Kenneth Green (Philadelphia, Pa.) 6-3, 6-1. First Team All-MEAC selection Gellert Varga (Becej, Serbia) added another victory when he beat Jonathan Sessom 4-6, 6-0, 3-2. Hampton's Edson Alves (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) defeated Dexter McDowell in straight sets 6-0, 6-1.
In doubles play, the Pirates' duo of Mattos and Varga crushed Culver and Marks 8-4. The team of Green and Reda beat the Spartan's Sessom and Ruff 6-5.
On Saturday, the Pirates gave their all against the Bulldogs of South Carolina State; however, they were defeated 5-0.
The Bulldogs' Gabriel Meana beat Mattos 6-2, 5-3, while Radek Pivonka beat Green 6-0, 6-0. Alves was defeated by Dmytro Kovalevych 6-2, 6-3. South Carolina State's Alexander Malko won in straight sets against Second Team All-MEAC selection Alvin Fludd (Washington, D.C.) 6-2, 6-2, and the Bulldogs finished with a victory by David Grund over Marcelo Reda (Tremembe, Brazil) 6-1, 6-1.
In doubles competition, Mattos and Varga were defeated by Meana and Pivonka 8-4, the Bulldog's Kovalevych and Langer beat Green and Reda 8-4 and South Carolina State ended the day with a victory with Vinogradovs and Grund beating Alves and Fludd 7-5.
The No. 3 seed in the Southern Division, Bethune-Cookman defeated Hampton, the Northern Division's No. 2 seed, 4-1 in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Lady Pirates' Second Team All-MEAC selection Na-Hyun Baek (Seoul, Korea) was defeated by Katarina Szaboova in a default. First Team All-MEAC selection Jovanna Sangria (Long Beach, Calif.) lost due to a default to the Lady Wildcats' Shereen Peterson-Pau, while Maria Ycaza (Guayaquil, Ecuador) was beaten by Eva Hankova 2-6, 5-7. Hampton's only victory came when Tabita Daolio (Centro Campinas, Brazil) defeated Valseshia Kendrick 6-3, 7-6. Bethune-Cookman's Jeneice Ward cruised past Janelle Small (Pickering, Ontario) in straight sets 6-4, 6-0.
In doubles play, Szaboova and Lopez defeated Sangria and Ycaza 9-7. The Lady Pirates stormed back to win the next match with a victory by Baek and Barenese Myers (Beverly Hills, Calif.) over Peterson-Pau and Hankova 8-2. However, the Lady Wildcats responded with a win by Kendrick and Ward over Daolio and Small 8-5.
South Carolina State won both the men's and women's championships on Sunday. The Lady Bulldogs earned their sixth consecutive MEAC crown and seventh overall with a 4-1 victory over Howard, while the Bulldogs topped the Florida A&M 4-1 to win their eighth MEAC crown.
For more information on Hampton University tennis, please call Derrick Coles, Assistant Sports Information Director, at (757) 727-5906, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.
