NORFOLK, Va. (April 22, 2026) – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) revealed its men's and women's tennis postseason honors and major awards where Howard University saw four Bison take home accolades for their accomplishments during the 2025-26 season. The announcement came Thursday evening during the league's annual awards ceremony.
 
Bison Director of Tennis Nicholas Askew headlined the night, winning his second MEAC Women's Coach of the Year award after going 4-2 in league play. HU picked conference victories over Coppin State, Delaware State, North Carolina Central (NCCU) and reigning MEAC Championship South Carolina State (SCSU). Howard also grabbed a nonconference win at George Mason.  
 
Freshman standout Franchesca Brown (Atlanta) earned a spot on the All-MEAC First Team after going 10-6 (5-1 MEAC) in the No. 2 singles position. The Atlanta native had a five-match win streak (Feb. 14 through March 19) while winning MEAC Rookie of the Week twice (Feb. 24 & March 31).
 
Juniors Imani Jean (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Michael Major Jr (Nassau, Bahamas) each made the All-MEAC Second Team. Both Bison served primarily as the No. 1 singles player, respectively, during the 2026 spring campaign.
 
Alejandra Hidalgo Vega (NCCU) won the MEAC Women's Player of the Year while Yana Kilmchuk (Norfolk State) claimed the league's Women's Rookie of the Year.
 
On the men's side, SCSU swept the major awards: Mikalai Bankou (MEAC Player of the Year); Andrii Borodatiuk (MEAC Rookie of the Year) and Hardeep Judge (MEAC Men's Coach of the Year).
 
On April 23-25, both squads are set to compete at the MEAC Tennis Championships in Cary, N.C. HU women meet reigning MEAC Champion South Carolina State Thursday (April 23) at 11 a.m. Later that day, the Bison men face rival Morgan State at 2 p.m.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com or the MEAC website at www.MEACSports.com.