Norfolk State and Morgan State will meet S.C. State and N.C. Central in Men’s Tennis Semifinals on ESPN+

CARY, N.C., April 24, 2025 – Opening day of the 2025 MEAC men’s tennis tournament saw No. 3 Norfolk State and No. 4 Morgan State all advanced to the semifinals on Friday, April 25.  

All semifinal matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ beginning at 12 P.M. at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C. 

Match 4: No. 4 Morgan State def. No. 5 Howard (M) | 4-1

The Morgan State Bears defeated the Howard Bison 4-1 in the last match of the day.  
Howard opened doubles winning the No. 1 flight 6-3 as Michael Major Jr. and Marcel Dawson defeated Mikael Carpenter and Makkijha Brown.  

Morgan State’s No. 2 and No. 3 doubles pairs answered both winning their matches 6-4 to take a 1-0 match lead.  
Niles Rachal gave the Bears a 2-0 lead after uprooting Howard’s Kendrick Lash 6-0, 6-3.  

Kaosie Nwokedi, the 2025 MEAC Men’s Rookie of the Year, won 6-3, 6-2 against Makkijha Brown, putting the score at 2-0. 
MSU got back on track with a tough win by Mikeal Carpenter, the MEAC Player of the Year, winning 7-5, 6-2. 

The Bears secured the victory when Yessine Kerouat a 6-4, 6-2 win over Hassimiyou Dieng putting the match score at 4-1.  

Morgan State will face No. 1 South Carolina State at 12 P.M. in the semifinal match. 

Match 5: No. 3 Norfolk State def. No. 6 Coppin State (M) | 4-0

No. 3 Norfolk State defeated No. 6 Coppin State with a quick 4-0 sweep in the quarterfinals of the 2025 MEAC Men’s Tennis Tournament. 

The Spartans easily won the No. 2 doubles match 6-0 followed by a 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles to secure the doubles point for Norfolk State. 

In singles action, Vladisav Gorbatenko defeated Harsh Kheterpal 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles to give NSU a 2-0 advantage. Deniz Okyay followed with a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles against Liam Murtaugh putting the score at 3-0, and Michele Elia dropped just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Aiden Thomas-Cogar to clinch the match for the Spartans.  

Norfolk State will face No. 2 North Carolina Central at 12 P.M. in the semifinal match.  

For additional information, including brackets, team info, and live scoring, please visit the Tennis Championship Central page at MEACSports.com.