CARY, N.C. (April 24, 2025)--The Morgan State women's tennis team entered Thursday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) quarterfinal match against rival Howard, having dropped 10 of its last 11 regular season contests.
 
However, the Lady Bears, who entered this week's championship as the sixth seed, would put it all together and pull off a thrilling upset victory over third-seeded Howard, 4-2 at the Cary Tennis Park.
 
Morgan State improved to 6-17 with the win and ended a five-match losing skid to the Bison. Howard ended its season at 9-9.
 
The Lady Bears, who led throughout the match, claimed the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead. Morgan State team of Marta Serra Carles and Aleksandra Evdokimova earned a 6-2 win over Howard's Dana Hall and Selah Stibbins at No. 3 doubles. The tandem of Lauryn Hall and Hannah Smith then knocked off Nadia Pegram and Imani Jean of Howard, 7-5 at the No. 1 spot.
 
After winning the doubles point, Morgan State then took a 2-0 lead after Tyler Williams won 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 6 singles position over Stibbins.
 
Howard got its first win of the match to cut the deficit to 2-1 when Imani Jean earned a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 4.
 
Morgan's Julia Jeffrey then recorded a straight sets victory over Jordan Grayson 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 to give the Lady Bears the 3-1 advantage.
 
The Bison pulled within 3-2 when Pegram held off Smith 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 at No 1 singles.
 
It would come down to the No. 2 and No. 5 singles contests. Morgan State needed just one more victory, while the Bison would need to claim both to win the match. Morgan State's Hall against Howard Sifa Butcher at No. 2 and Carles vs. Ava Chambers at the No. 5 position.
 
Neither contest would disappoint. All four competitors battled back-and-forth, as both contests would go to three sets.
 
For Morgan State, Carles went up 4-1 in the third set, while Hall trailed 2-1 in the third. Carles then took a 5-2 lead and was up 40-15. Meanwhile, Hall bounced back from a 4-2 deficit and pulled even with Butcher to tie the score at 4-4.
 
Carles would break a 40-40 tie with Chambers and went on to win the third set 6-2, thus winning the No. 5 singles contest 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to give Morgan an entertaining win over Howard, 4-2.
 
Morgan State advances to the semifinal round where it will meet No. 2 North Carolina Central on Friday at 9 a.m. The match will air live on ESPN+. The Eagles cruised into the semifinal round with an impressive 4-0 victory over No.7 Coppin State.  
 
Last year the two teams met in the quarterfinal round, which the Lady Bears won 4-3. This season the Eagles defeated Morgan State, 5-2 during the MEAC Round-Up in Washington, D.C.
 
 
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ABOUT MORGAN
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.