CARY, N.C. (March 17, 2023) -- The Morgan State men's tennis team earned a comeback 4-3 win versus North Carolina Central during Friday action of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Round-Up at Cary Tennis Park.
The Bears collected the doubles point in swift fashion before piling on three straight-set singles wins and clinching it at 4-0 on Bertin Karenzi's victory on court five.
Morgan improves to 3-7 overall and takes a 1-1 start to MEAC play with today's win.
Morgan claimed the doubles point, with a 6-3 win on court 1 by Sebastian Lopez and Makkijha Brown against Sebastian Pino and Oliver Saarinen. The Bears also took 7-5 win at No. 2 doubles when Rhajzon Rankins and Niles Rachal held off Naresh Bharathy and Kareem Abdul Hakim to claim the opening point.
Morgan's duo of Mikeal Carpenter and Bertin Karenzi also collected a 7-5 win at No. 3 as they dropped Liam Murtaugh and Shaka Cristellotti.
Carpenter got the Bears off to a strong start at No. 1 singles. The junior posted a 6-3, 6-0 win over Pino to make it a 2-0 Morgan advantage. Propping up the Bears next was sophomore Niles Rachal, whose 6-3, 6-1 victory over Kareem Abdul Hakim on court three got Morgan a 3-0 lead. At the No. 5 spot, Karenzi sealed victory for the Bears on a 6-2, 6-4 win over Cristellotti, making it 4-0 Bears.
The match played on, as the Eagles would take the final three in singles action.
The Eagles got on the board next with Facundo Olmedo's 6-4, 6-3 decision over Brown at No. 6. Bharathy followed with a 6-7 (5-8), 6-2, 1-0 (10-7) win against Rankins at No. 4. The match wrapped as 4-3 final after Saarinen recorded a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win against Lopez at No. 2.
Next up for the Bears is Day 3 of the MEAC Round-Up when they face off against Norfolk State at 9 a.m. on Saturday (March 18) at Cary Tennis Park.
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Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
