HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women's tennis team will host the Lady Spartans of Norfolk State for its first match of the spring 2010 season on Friday at noon. 

Hampton last faced Norfolk State 4-3 on April 19, 2008 in the semifinals of the MEAC tennis championships, falling 4-3. 

Hampton took two of the three doubles matches, with Syreeta Thompson and Kelli Young defeating Brittany Foster and Ashley Daugherty 8-0; Janelle Small and Maya Morgan beat Lerissa Morris and Jennifer Astbury 8-5. Two-time MEAC Player of the Year Na-Hyun Baek and Jovanna Sangria lost their doubles match to Fiorella Valdivia and Stepanka Velebova, 8-2.

 Baek and Thompson each won their singles matches in straight sets -- Baek over Valdivia 6-1, 6-1 and Thompson over Foster 6-0, 6-1 -- but the Lady Spartans took the last four singles matches to advance to Sunday morning's title match. Velebova beat Sangria in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. Young forced Morris into a third game before Morris won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Hampton lost the last two matches in straight sets; Astbury defeated Small 6-1, 6-3, while Daugherty beat Morgan 6-1, 6-4 to clinch the match. 

Norfolk State finished last season 4-6 and 0-4 in the MEAC. The Lady Spartans were predicted to finish fifth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Southern Division, as voted on by the league's head tennis coaches and sports information directors.

 The Spartans are currently 0-2, falling to Old Dominion 0-7 and UNC-Wilmington 1-6. 

The Lady Pirates' next match will be Feb. 21, when they head to Statesboro, Ga. to face to face the Lady Eagles of Georgia Southern. For more information on Hampton University women's tennis, please call Derrick Coles, Assistant Sports Information Director, at (757) 727-5906, or visit the official Pirates website at http://www.hamptonpirates.com