MEAC Announces 2025 Tennis All-Conference Honors

NORFOLK, Va. — Morgan State senior Mikeal Carpenter and South Carolina State senior Sofya Chursina were named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s (MEAC) 2025 Men’s and Women’s Tennis Players of the Year as voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors. 

Howard’s Kaosie Nwokedi was named the Men’s Rookie of the Year, while Delaware State’s Victoria Linkovski was selected as the Women’s Rookie of the Year. 

South Carolina State’s head coach Hardeep Judge was named the Women’s Coach of the Year, while Coach Judge and North Carolina Central’s Curtis Lawson were voted Men’s Co-Coaches of the Year. 

Carpenter earned MEAC Men’s Player of the Year honors following an exceptional 2024-25 season, finishing with a 15-2 singles record, including a perfect 5-0 mark in conference play. He picked up nonconference singles wins over No. 1 players from Delaware, LIU, Temple, Mt. St. Mary’s, Wagner, St. Leo and Fordham. Carpenter’s season is highlighted nine-match win streak dating back to March 20. Carpenter, who won the honor in 2023, becomes just the third player to win the MEAC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year award multiple times joining Seo-Jae Chang from Hampton and C. Salif Kante of Florida A&M. 

Chursina capped off an impressive season, earning MEAC Player of the Year honors for the third consecutive season after leading the Bulldogs to a third consecutive regular-season title and an undefeated 6-0 conference record. She posted a strong 11-4 mark at No. 1 singles, including a 5-1 record against MEAC opponents. Teaming up with Hind Semlali, she went 12-4 at No. 1 doubles, highlighted by an undefeated run through league play. Chursina joins Bethune-Cookman’s Mina Matsuba as the only other player in MEAC women’s tennis history to have won the honor three times. 

Nwokedi delivered a strong freshman campaign for the Bison, primarily competing at the No. 2 singles position. He posted a 10-7 singles record, earning notable wins over Loyola (Md.), Mt. St. Mary’s, N.C. A&T State, Wagner, Longwood, Hampton, Morgan State, and Coppin State. In doubles play, Nwokedi teamed with Marcel Dawson and Daniel Dunac, recording several key victories and finishing with a 6-11 doubles record. His standout performance throughout the year led to him earning MEAC Player of the Week honors twice and Rookie of the Week honors four times. 

Linkovski put together a strong 2024-25 season for Delaware State, competing primarily in the middle of the singles lineup. She posted a 6-5 singles record, highlighted by a stretch of five straight victories during the month of March, including key wins over Binghamton, Coppin State, Wilmington University, Morgan State, and South Carolina State. 

Judge finished an outstanding 2024-25 season by earning MEAC Women’s Coach of the Year and Co-Men’s Coach of the Year honors. Under his leadership, South Carolina State tennis posted a combined 26-7 record, with the men finishing 13-3 and the women 13-4. The Bulldogs were dominant in conference play combining for a perfect 11-0 mark (Men – 5-0; Women – 6-0). They secured nonconference wins over Georgia State, Tennessee – Chattanooga, Wofford, George Mason, Furman, Presbyterian and Campbell. They will enter the tournament as the no. 1 seed. Now in his 23rd season at the helm, Coach Judge’s Bulldogs set their sights on capturing a sixth consecutive Women’s Championship and a fifth consecutive championship for the Men. 

Lawson earned Men’s Co-Coach of the Year honors after leading North Carolina Central to a remarkable turnaround in the 2024-25 season. Under Coach Lawson’s guidance, the Eagles went 15-5 record, securing the No. 2 seed heading into the MEAC Tennis Championship. NC Central closed the regular season on a 12-1 run over their last 13 matches. They secured nonconference wins over UNC Greensboro, Davidson, St. Thomas Aquinas, Fairleigh Dickenson, Hampton, Niagara, Findlay, and N.C. A&T. 

The 2025 MEAC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships begin with women’s play on Thursday, April 24, at 8 a.m., with the men starting at 2 p.m. The championship tournament concludes on Saturday, April 26, with the women’s final beginning at 9 a.m., followed by the men’s title match at 12 p.m.   

The 2025 MEAC Tennis Championship semifinal and championship matches will be streamed on ESPN+ at 9:00 a.m. for the women’s and 12:00 p.m. for the men’s.   

All matches will be held at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.  

2025 Women’s Tennis All-MEAC Teams  
As voted on by the conference’s head tennis coaches and sports information directors.  
 
Player of the Year: Sofya Chursina, South Carolina State  
Rookie of the Year: Victoria Linkovski, Delaware State 
Coach of the Year: Hardeep Judge, South Carolina State

1st Team 
Kit Yi Kaye Au-Yeung, Delaware State  
Yuliya Yurkova, Norfolk State  
Alejandra Hidalgo Vega, N.C. Central  
Sofya Chursina, S.C. State  
Hind Semlali, S.C. State  
Nalanda Teixeira de Silva, S.C. State  

2nd Team  
Lucia Casas Blas, Delaware State  
Camilla Mitolo, Delaware State  
Ava Chambers, Howard  
Jordan Grayson, Howard  
Nadia Pegram, Howard  
Sofiya Tsitavets, Norfolk State 

2025 Men’s Tennis All-MEAC Teams  
As voted on by the conference’s head tennis coaches and sports information directors.  
 
Player of the Year: Mikeal Carpenter, Morgan State 
Rookie of the Year: Kaosie Nwokedi, Howard 
Coach of the Year: Hardeep Judge, S.C. State; Curtis Lawson, N.C. Central

1st team 
Mikeal Carpenter, Morgan State 
Jakub Solarski, Norfolk State  
Hugo Hidalgo Vega, N.C. Central  
Mikalai Bankou, S.C. State  
Aissa Benchakroun, S.C. State  
Novak Novakovic, S.C. State  

2nd Team  
Michael Major Jr., Howard  
Frederick McRae, Norfolk State  
Deniz Okyay , Norfolk State  
Kareem Abdul Hakim, N.C. Central  
Rodrigo Alves, N.C. Central  
Iliyas Muratuly , S.C. State