NEW ORLEANS, La. | Alabama State punched their ticket to the postseason with a 4-0 victory over Jackson State in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship match at the Pepsi Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon.

The title is first for Alabama State since 2019 after falling in the championship match last season, and the Hornets have won five championships since 2015. With the win, the Hornets will advance to the NCAA Regionals beginning next month and finish off an undefeated season (both regular season and tournament) in conference play.

Chris Andre (Berlin, Germany) was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament, while Anuk Christiansz was named the SWAC Coach of the Year. Joining Andre on the all-conference team was Ruan Du Preez (Cape Town, South Africa) and Samrakshyak Bajracharya (Kathmandu, Nepal).

How It Happened

• Alabama State, who won their seventh consecutive match, jumped ahead 1-0 in the overall match with a pair of victories in doubles play to start the match. The number two team of Du Preez and Bajracharya defeated the team of Hiromu Ikeda and Agustin Agosto, 6-2.
• The point was clinched when the number one team of Juan Rodriguez (Concordia, Argentina) and Andre won their match easily, 6-4.
• In singles play, Bajracharya put the Hornets up 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at number two over Raul Centeno, before Kristofer Johnson (Bromley, UK) won at number six 6-3, 6-3 over Ikeda to put Alabama State up 3-0.
• The Hornets clinched the championship when Andre defeated Juan Soria at number three 6-1, 6-3.

Up Next
Alabama State will find out their regional destination and their opponents on the NCAA Selection Show that airs on Monday, May 2 on NCAA.com. The show airs at 6 pm.

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For complete coverage of Alabama State University men's tennis, follow the Hornets on social media @BamaStateTennis (Twitter), /BamaStateSports (Facebook), @BamaStateSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Alabama State athletics at BamaStateSports.com.




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