NC Central and Jackson State Crowned HBCU National Tennis Champions

The women of Jackson State University and the men of North Carolina Central University took on competitors from nine collegiate conferences over the weekend, emerging victorious to win the 24^th HBCU National Tennis Championships in South Fulton, GA.

Jackson State scored big with top-seeded Paula Corbalan defeating teammate Victoria Linkovski 6-0, 6-3 to win the Women’s Flight A Singles competition. The Tigers struck gold again with a 1-2 finish in the Women’s Flight C as sixth-seeded Isabella Benavides defeated her teammate Polina Georgieva 7-5, 6-0.

A pair of JSU doubles teams reached the finals in the Women’s Flight A and Women’s Flight C competitions. Linkovski and Helen Hernandez lost to Alabama State’s top-seeded Diana Craciumn and Melisa Mekic 7-5 in the Women’s Flight A match. Teammates Mariia Iordanova and Daniela Tova were defeated 6-2 by the number four seed team, Selah Stibbins and Lauren Oliver of Howard University.

“There was a lot of hard work and they put a lot of effort on the court,” said Jackson State Head Coach Hernan Geria. With the fall trophy secured, Geria is already looking forward to the season. “It’s the first one,” said Geria. “We are very happy. We are very excited, and we are getting ready for the spring to take the SWAC Championship too.”

North Carolina Central employed a similar strategy for their second men’s title (third overall). The Eagles’ top-seed in the Men’s Flight B singles, Naresh Mithran Bharathy, defeated his teammate and third-seeded Rodrigo Alves in a torturous, sun-drenched, mid-day battle 7-6(3), 7-5. Both doubles teams landed in the finals against a pair of Tiger tandems with mixed results. Antoni Pankowski and Bharathy defeated Jackson State’s Frederico Pieckenstainer and Hung-Yu Chen 6-4 in Men’s Flight B. Eagles teammates Kareem Hakim and Leo Fortier-Gariepy ran into a buzz saw in Tennessee State. Men’s Flight A Singles winner Taj Hibbert and Adler Germinal were on their A-game, winning 6-3.

Extended Photo Gallery Below

Placing two doubles teams in the finals is a must because of the NCAA’s team scoring structure. According to Lawson, a program needs at least two of their three doubles teams to do well in order to get a point before the start of singles play. “In recent years, we have tried to make doubles our calling card,” said Lawson. “We practice it religiously, and we have a very clear understanding of how important that doubles point is. It means a lot to us.”

Eagles Director of Tennis and Men’s Team Head Coach D. Curtis Lawson is hoping to use this win as another building block towards a successful season. Last season, the Eagles finished second in the MEAC and lost in the semifinals of the NIT to eventual champion Tennessee Chattanooga 4-3.

The Eagles are also winning in the classroom. “We place a high priority on our academics,” said Lawson. “This year, we received recognition for having the highest team grade point average (3.88 on a 4.0 scale) on the men’s team in the nation. So, of all D1 men’s programs, we have the highest team GPA.

NCCU Director of Athletics Louis “Skip” Perkins is a product of that focus. Dr. Perkins played for one of Lawson’s first teams after being named head coach in 1990. He was named an Academic All-American in 1994 and 1995.

Competition for second through fifth was tighter in the men’s than in the women’s standings. Last year’s women’s champion, Alabama A&M’s finished 50 points behind Jackson State in second place and almost 20 points better than third-place Howard University. The Bulldogs finished 1-3 in the Women’s Flight B Singles. Senior Alicia Owegi made her final appearance in the event a memorable one by rallying from a set down to defeat Cleanne Pickel from arch rival Alabama State 5-7, 6-3,7-5. The chants of Maroon | White are still echoing along the nearby highway. Franchesca Brown finished two spots behind Owegi, defeating XULAs Ana Sabikova 6-2, 6-1. Teammates Sofia Sotelo Raya and Nardine Salem chipped in with their All-Bulldogs third and fourth playoff match in the Women’s Flight B Singles.

Howard University, the 2015 Women’s Champion, clinched the third spot because of its 3-1 advantage over Alabama State in head-to-head play. Selah Stibbins and Lauren Oliver returned to Washington, DC, as Doubles Champions in the Women’s Flight B competition.

On the men’s side, only 13 points separated second-place Alabama State from sixth-place Jackson State. Alabama A&M’s unseeded Arnav Pathange exemplified the level of competitive play at the championships. Panthange had to rally from being down a set and 3-0 in the second set to defeat Howard University’s third-seeded Michael Major [3] 5-7, 6-4, [10-7] and finish third in the Men’s A Flight Singles. “I had to bring out the inner animal inside me and fight,” said an obviously exhausted Panthage while the rest of the Bulldogs cheered on Owegi. His advice to others in that situation is, “You just have to believe in yourself.”

Next year is the silver anniversary of the HBCU National Tennis Championships. There is no doubt that every team that has participated over the last 24 years wants that title. The City of South Fulton is already planning for the monumental event. For now, join me in recognizing the winners and teams from the weekend below.

Playoff and Consolation Round

Previous Winners

2025 HBCU National Tennis Championships

2025 HBCU National Tennis Championships - Saturday