NORFOLK, Va., April 18, 2013- South Carolina State University's Maria Craciun and Florida A&M University's C. Salif Kante were named the 2013 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men's and Women's Tennis Players of the Year, as voted by the conference's head tennis coaches and sports information directors.
North Carolina Central's Aissa Muamba was named Rookie of the Year for the women while NCCU's head coach David Nass was selected as the Women's Tennis Coach of the Year.
Norfolk State's Dzmitry Zyhmantovich earned the men's Rookie of the Year honor and NSU head coach Nate Feldman was selected as the Men's Tennis Coach of the Year.
Craciun, a four-time First-Team All-MEAC selection, posted a 14-3 record at the number one singles position including an unblemished 6-0 mark in southern divisional play. She teamed up with All-MEAC Second Team selection Klara Dohnalova to tally a 12-3 record at number one doubles. The senior finished the year winning 11 of her last twelve matches.
Muamba tallied a 17-3 overall record including a 15-3 mark at the number three singles position. In doubles action, Muamba finished 9-8, with a 4-1 record in southern divisional play. The rookie lost her first match of the season against Elon but then rattled off 13 straight wins with 11 coming in straight sets.
Nass earns his first Coach of the Year award for the women's tennis program. In his 12th year at the helm, the Lady Eagles recorded a 13-4 overall record and posted a 5-1 mark in conference play to earn the second seed in the south.
Joining Craciun and Muamba on the women's First-Team are Delaware State's Brittany Marshall, Morgan State's Ekaterina Iakovleva and Mi'Kola Cooper, and Ekaterina Nekrasova of North Carolina Central.
Kante, who earned the 2012 MEAC Player of the Year honor, posted an unblemished 4-0 mark in conference play and an 18-2 overall record at the number one singles position. The senior finished with a 15-1 mark in doubles play to help the Rattlers win co-champion honors and the number one seed in the southern division.
Zyhmantovich, a four-time MEAC Rookie of the Week honoree, finished the regular season with a 12-5 record in singles, including eight victories coming at the number one position.
The 2013 Men's Coach of the Year honor is the first for the Spartans second year head coach. Feldman guided NSU to a 12-8 overall mark and 3-1 conference record to earn a share of the southern division title. The Spartans finished out the year winning seven of their last nine games.
Along with Kante and Zyhmantovich with First-Team Honors are Florida A&M's Chidi Gabriel, Duk Young-Park of Morgan State, Norfolk State's Robin Riethmueller, South Carolina State's Artemiy Nikitin and Park Wan-Young of Hampton.
The 2013 MEAC Men's and Women's Tennis Championships begin with women's play on Friday, April 19 at 8:30 a.m. The women's semi-final rounds start on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. followed by the men at Noon. The Championship concludes on Sunday with the women's final beginning at 9 a.m. followed by the men's title match at Noon.
2013 MEAC Men's and Women's Tennis All-MEAC Teams
As Voted by the Conference's Head Tennis Coaches and Sports Information Directors
Women
Player of the Year: Maria Craciun, South Carolina State
Rookie of the Year: Aissa Muamba, North Carolina Central
Coach of the Year: David Nass, North Carolina Central
First Team
Name School Class Hometown
Aissa Muamba North Carolina Central Fr. Laval, Canada
Maria Craciun South Carolina State Sr. Pitesti, Romania
Brittany Marshall Delaware State Sr. Dagsboro, Del
Ekaterina Iakovleva Morgan State Jr. Vladivostok, Russia
Mi'Kola Cooper Morgan State Fr. North Charleston, S.C.
Ekaterina Nekrasova North Carolina Central So. Severodvinsk, Russia
Second Team
Name School Class Hometown
Gaby Chinchilla Bethune-Cookman So. San Salvador, El Salvador
Laura Bosneag South Carolina State Sr. Pitesi, Romania
Chinatsu Kajiwara Bethune-Cookman So. Fukuoka, Japan
Shereen Peterson-Paul Bethune-Cookman Sr. Ontario, Canada
Victoria Williams Florida A&M Fr. Miami, Fla.
Katelyn Stokes Howard Jr. Lanham, Md.
Klara Dohnalova South Carolina State Fr. Trinec,Czech Republic
Men
Rookie of the Year: Dzmitry Zhymantovich, Norfolk State
Coach of the Year: Nate Feldman, Norfolk State
First Team
Name School Class Hometown
Chidi Gabriel Florida A&M Sr. Piscataway, N.J.
Artemiy Nikitin South Carolina State Jr. Omsk, Russia
C. Salif Kante Florida A&M Sr. Dakar, Senegal
Duk Young-Park Morgan State So. Silver Spring, Md.
Robin Riethmueller Norfolk State Fr. Balingen, Germany
Dzmitry Zhymantovich Norfolk State Fr. Minsk, Belarus
Park Wan-Young Hampton So. Daeduk-Gu, Daejeon
Second Team
Name School Class Hometown
Leonardo Lima Bethune-Cookman Jr. San Paulo, Brazil
Takura Happy Florida A&M Sr. Mutare, Zimbabwe
Marius Dragoi South Carolina State Fr. Pitesti, Romania
Jiri Stiburek South Carolina State Fr. Prici Nad Sazavou, Czech Republic
Peteris Vinogradous South Carolina State Sr. Ligatne, Latvia
Zach Evenden Florida A&M Jr. London, England
Santiago Lobelo Bethune-Cookman Jr. Bogota, Columbia
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