NORFOLK, Va. (April 22, 2026)--Morgan State freshman Ilya Maltsev earned Second-Team All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) honors, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday evening.
 
South Carolina State's Mikalai Bankou was named MEAC Player of the Year, while teammate Andrii Borodatiuk was named MEAC Rookie of the Year. The Bulldogs would complete the sweep of the league's top awards, as head coach Hardeep Judge claimed MEAC Coach of the Year honors.
 
During his rookie campaign, Maltsev proved to be a constant for Morgan State this season. A native of Moscow, Mockba, Maltsev recorded a 9-7 singles mark and went 12-5 in doubles action, spending the entire season paired with Abdulraheem Isa.
 
He closed out the regular season being named MEAC Rookie of the Week (4/21) after helping the Bears defeat Howard in the season finale on April 13 in Washington, D.C. Maltsev went 2-0 for the week, earning a No. 2 singles victory and teamed up with Abdulraheem Isa for a win at No. 1 doubles.
 
Maltsev is joined on the All-MEAC second team by Michael Major Jr. (Howard), Marcin Andrzejczak and Dominik Simunovic (Norfolk State) and Naresh Bharathy and Santiago Pinna (North Carolina Central).
 
Led by head coach Matthew Townes, the Bears (7-11, 2-3 MEAC) enter this week's MEAC tennis championship as the fourth seed and will face a familiar foe in Beltway rival Howard, who is the fifth seed. The two will meet on Thursday, April 23 at 2 p.m. in the quarterfinal round held at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.
 
It will be the third consecutive season Morgan State and Howard will meet in the quarterfinals. Last season the Bears advanced to the semifinals after defeating Howard 4-1. The year before the Bison would taste victory, defeating Morgan State 4-2 in the 2024 quarterfinal.
 
 
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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.