NORFOLK, Va., — South Carolina State men's head tennis coach Hardeep Judge was named MEAC Co-Coach of the Year, while four Bulldog was named to the All-MEAC team voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.
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.
Others earning honors were Mikalai Bankou,
Aissa Benchakroun, and
Novak Novakovic were all named All-MEAC First Team, while Iliyas Muratuly was named to the All-MEAC 2
nd Team respectively.
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 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
