Cary, N.C. (Apr. 28, 2023) --- The Delaware State women's tennis team has reached the MEAC Tournament Championship match for the first time ever with a 4-0 victory over North Carolina Central in a semifinal contest at Cary Tennis Park today. The third seeded Hornets will face two-time defending champ and No. 1 seed South Carolina State in the title match tomorrow (Apr. 29) at 9:00 a.m. The contest will air live on ESPN+. SC State punched its ticket to the final match with a 4-1 victory over No. 4 Howard today.
In today's match, Noelani Lui won in straight sets for Delaware State, while three Hornets needed three sets to claim their victories. Lui posted a 6-3, 6-2 win over NC Central's Kennedy Hill in the No. 2 contest. In the No. 1 match, Delaware State's Kit Yi Kay Au-Yeung took set one 6-2, but dropped the second set 5-7 to force a decisive third set. She returned to her set one form with a 6-2 victory over  Alejandra Hidalgo in the final set to clinch the match. Au-Yeung was named to the 2023 All-MEAC Second Team this week, while Hildago earned MEAC Rookie of the Year honors.
Daria Julia also went the distance to defeat NCCU's Candice Bernier in the No. 3 contest. Julia, an All-MEAC Second Team selection, won the first set 6-1, but Bernier responded with a 6-1 victory in the second set. Julia outlasted Bernier 7-6 in set three to earn the hard-fought win.     
Delaware State's Klaudija Lisovska and NC Central's Jade Houston also played three sets, with Lisovska coming out on top 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the No. 4 match.
Saturday's championship contest will be the second meeting between Delaware State and South Carolina State this season. The Bulldogs won the earlier meeting 7-0 at the MEAC Round-up on March 18, also in Cary, N.C. SC State, 7-0  against MEAC opponents this season, has won 15 MEAC titles since 2005.