#SWACWTEN Tournament Recap: Day One
NEW ORLEANS – The 2019 Southwestern Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament got underway Friday with Jackson State and Alcorn State advancing to the semifinals during action at the City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center.
The Lady Tigers, who came into the tournament as the No. 6 seed, defeated No. 4 Southern 4-2. Jackson State shook off an early doubles loss to take the doubles point thanks to wins by No. 2 tandem Lucia Solis and Lily Zhang. The all-conference honorees downed Southern's D'Jeri Raymond and Stephanie Mbaya 6-1.
Nina Zhang and Ariel Dickson clinched the doubles point for Jackson State with a 6-0 win over Southern's Nandi Munyulwa and Anya King.
In singles action, Solis defeated the Jaguars' No. 1 player Tankaa Chakanyuka in straight sets, and N. Zhang followed suit over Southern's Rufaro Chirewa.
The Jaguars picked up singles wins thanks to Mbaya sweeping Jackson State's Maria Martinez (6-4, 6-1) and Raymond defeated Lucia Placidi 6-1, 6-2, but Dickson clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Nandi Munyulwa.
The No. 5 seed Lady Braves battled No. 3 Alabama A&M to seven games. After the Bulldogs took the doubles point convincingly, Alcorn State regrouped during singles action. No. 6 Veronika Pytlikova picked up the first win for the Lady Braves in straight sets, and Anastasia Vaganova downed Alabama A&M's Jasmine Boyd 7-5, 6-4.
Anita Bozkho defeated Alcorn State's Bianca Birkenstock in straight sets, but an Ammaarah Tim win over Rida Khalid forced Alabama A&M into must-win matches for its No. 5 and No. 1 singles matches. Though India Woods tied the match for the Bulldogs with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Klavdija Bukovec, Alcorn State's Stefany Grlj outlasted Alabama A&M's Beatriz Gutierrez in a battle of No. 1 singles players to send the Lady Braves to the semifinals.
Jackson State advances to face top-seeded Alabama State, and Alcorn State will face Prairie View A&M. Both matches will begin 9 a.m. Saturday morning.
Full match results are below.
Jackson State 4, Southern 2
(JSU advances)
No. 1 Doubles: Rufaro Chirewa/Tanaka Chakanyuka (SU) def. Oni Jones/Lucia Placidi (JSU), 6-2
No. 2 Doubles: Lucia Solis/Lily Zhang (JSU) def. D'Jeri Raymond/Stephanie Mbaya (SU), 6-1
No. 3 Doubles: Nina Zhang/Ariel Dickson (JSU) def. Nandi Munyulwa/Anya King (SU), 6-0
No. 1 Singles: Lucia Solis (JSU) def. Tanaka Chakanyuka (SU), 6-1, 7-5
No. 2 Singles: Lily Zhang (JSU) def. Rufaro Chirewa (SU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 Singles: Stephanie Mbaya (SU) def. Maria Martinez (JSU), 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 Singles: D'Jeri Raymond (SU) def. Lucia Placidi (JSU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 Singles: Ariel Dickson (JSU) def. Nandi Mynyulwa (SU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 Singles: Anya King (SU) vs. Lily Zhang (JSU), unfinished
Alcorn State 4, Alabama A&M 3
(Alcorn State advances)
No. 1 Doubles: Anita Bozhko/Jasmine Boyd (AAMU) def. Stefany Grlj/Ammaarah Tim (ALCN), 6-0
No. 2 Doubles: Ayana Rengiil/Nthabiseng Mashengo (AAMU) vs. Anastasia Vaganova/Bianca Birkenstock, unfinished
No. 3 Doubles: Rida Khalid/India Woods (AAMU) vs. Klavdija Bukovec/Veronika Pytlikova (ALCN), 6-1
No. 1 Singles: Stefany Grlj (ALCN) def. Beatriz Gutierrez (AAMU), 7-6, 7-5
No. 2 Singles: Anastasia Vaganova (ALCN) def. Jasmine Boyd (AAMU), 7-5, 6-4
No. 3 Singles: Anita Bozhko (AAMU) def. Bianca Birkenstock (ALCN), 6-0, 6-4
No. 4 Singles: Ammaarah Tim (ALCN) def. Rida Khalid (AAMU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 Singles: India Woods (AAMU) def. Klavdija Bukovec (ALCN), 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 Singles: Veronika Pytlikova (ALCN) def. Nthabiseng Mashengo (AAMU) 6-4, 6-4