JACKSON, Miss. – With the second Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Tennis pod event of the 2024 spring season delayed by a day, Jackson State defeated visiting Bethune-Cookman 4-0 on Saturday evening at JSU Tennis Courts.
 
Bethune-Cookman (0-14, 0-6 SWAC) dropped the doubles point despite tough play from both the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.
 
Jackson State (7-4, 3-2 SWAC) grabbed the win at No. 3 doubles by default, while using the team of Tyra-Nicole Whyte and Paula Corbalan to defeat BCU's Keona Burley and Courdeja Clark by a 6-2 score line at No. 2. The Wildcats duo of Janet Imbo Nloga and Tuhina Sambhus trailed 4-2 in a thrilling match in top flight action before it was halted with the doubles point gathered by the homestanding Tigers.
 
"Down 0-1 going into singles, I thought all the Wildcats competed hard today," remarked Bethune-Cookman Head Coach Chris Wollett after the match. "Keona [Burley] played one of her best singles matches I've ever seen her play, but her opponent was just better today. Janet [Imbo Nloga] was down by a large margin fast but did an awesome job fighting back to only drop the opener at 5-7."
 
BCU freshman Tuhina Sambhus registered a first set victory on court three from JSU's Zeina Shaaban. The second set was unfinished with Shaaban holding a slim 2-1 advantage. Meanwhile, at the No. 1 position, Bethune-Cookman's Janet Imbo Nloga and Jackson State's Tyra-Nicole Whyte finished their opening set in a thrilling 7-5 win for the Tigers top player.
 
"Tuhina [Sambhus] played a very smart first set and took the opening set, 6-3," added Wollett.
 
The Tigers went ahead 2-0 in the match when Bethune-Cookman's Allexii Bassette was forced to retire on court three after dropping the opening set to JSU's Paula Corbalan, 6-1.
 
"With Allexii [Bassette] not really able to compete today due to illness, we were really in a tight spot," stated Wollett. "We had to pull our No. 2 doubles team and move up No. 3 to the second spot while forfeiting on court three."
 
JSU made it 3-0 at the No. 6 position as Isabela Benavides recorded a straight-set victory (6-0, 6-0) from the Wildcats' Courdeja Clark.
 
The match was punctuated when Zofia Dziewiecka defeated BCU's Keona Burley at the No. 5 spot in straight sets (6-1, 6-0).
 
"I was proud of how we competed today," said Wollett. "JSU's overall level was higher than ours, but we fought hard at all positions. I hope the competitiveness will give the team some confidence going into tomorrow's match."
 
BCU faces Mississippi Valley State on Sunday at noon ET. The match will take place at FitNetWork Cypress Lake in Madison, Mississippi.
 
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COMPLETE RESULTS
Singles Competition
1. Tyra-Nicole Whyte (JSU) vs. Janet Imbo Nloga (BCU) 7-5, unfinished
2. Robin Alston (JSU) vs. Jalayah Shaw (BCU) 6-4, 0-2, unfinished
3. Zeina Shaaban (JSU) vs. Tuhina Sambhus (BCU) 3-6, 2-1, unfinished
4. Paula Corbalan (JSU) def. Allexii Bassette (BCU) 6-1, retired
5. Zofia Dziewiecka (JSU) def. Keona Burley (BCU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Isabela Benavides (JSU) def. Courdeja Clark (BCU) 6-0, 6-0
 
Doubles Competition
1. Robin Alston/Zeina Shaaban (JSU) vs. Janet Imbo Nloga/Tuhina Sambhus (BCU) 4-2, unfinished
2. Tyra-Nicole Whyte/Paula Corbalan (JSU) def. Keona Burley/Courdeja Clark (BCU) 6-2
3. Chiara Desia/Zofia Dziewiecka (JSU) def. No player/No player (BCU), by default