CARY, N.C. (April 25, 2026)--The Lady Bears are heading back to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) women's tennis championship match, following Friday morning's dominating 4-1 victory over third-seeded North Carolina Central at Cary Tennis Park.
 
Top-seeded Morgan State will now face No. 2 Norfolk State for the 2026 MEAC title on Saturday, April 25 at 9 a.m. live on ESPN+. It will be the program's third championship appearance (1994, 2018, 2026) and the first since 2018, when the Lady Bears captured their second MEAC crown.
 
Norfolk State (16-9) defeated defending champion South Carolina State, 4-1 in the other semifinal match.
 
"Today was a hard-fought win. We showed grit and determination and prevailed against a tough NCCU team," said Morgan State head coach Matthew Townes. "We are one step closer to our goal, but we know it's going to take more of the same effort today to bring home the championship."
 
The Eagles struck first when Alejandra Hidalgo and Valentina Aquino earned a 6-3 doubles win at No. 3 over Morgan State's Tyler Williams and Damla Arslan.
 
The Lady Bears would win the next two doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead over NCCU. Lauryn Hall and Marta Serra Carles paired together to knock off Patricia Palencia and Sara Barbaric 6-4 in a No. doubles match.
 
Morgan State then secured the doubles point when Michaela Stephens and Julia Jeffrey claimed a win at No. 2 singles over Mariana Zottoli and Valeria San Miguel, 6-4 to give Morgan the 1-0 lead.
 
North Carolina Central (10-10) tied the contest at 1-1 when San Miguel defeated Jeffrey 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot. That would be the last win of the morning for the Eagles.
 
With the match all evened up, Morgan State (14-7) would proceed to win the remaining three completed singles matches.
 
Amira Bargaoui gave the Lady Bears the lead for good at 2-1, following her straight sets win at the No. 3 spot over Palencia 6-4, 6-2.
 
Serra Carles needed three sets to bounce back and defeat Zottoli, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 4 position to give the Lady Bears a 3-1 advantage.
 
Tyler Williams put on the finishing touches to send Morgan State to the championship final with her three-set victory over Barbaric 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
 
 
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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.