MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Bethune-Cookman Women's Tennis dropped a pair of matches Sunday afternoon as the Wildcats wrapped up play at the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Pod #2 event hosted by Alabama State. The Cats fell to Grambling State 5-2 in the day's opening match, before suffering a tough 4-0 setback in the nightcap to Alabama A&M, after sitting for more than four hours due to weather. The Wildcats were forced to shuffle the lineup against AAMU due to injuries stemming from the day's opening match.
 

GRAMBLING 5, B-CU 2
Jalayah Shaw and Zahara El-Zein mustered up singles victories Sunday afternoon, but it would be Grambling State taking the 5-2 decision against Bethune-Cookman in the day's opening match at The Field at 17 Springs as part of the SWAC Pod #2 hosted by Alabama State in Millbrook, Alabama.
 
In doubles competition, Grambling State (2-6, 2-4 SWAC) secured the point by winning two completed matches, despite the doubles match being played under protest for lineup violation. The No. 2 Tigers duo of Mawisire and Rajic defeated B-CU's El-Zein and Burley 6-1, while Simmons and Claire Machisa stepped past Snipes-Williams and Cerne 6-0 at the No. 3 position.
 
Bethune-Cookman (2-13, 1-6 SWAC) sophomore Jalayah Shaw dominated at No. 1 singles, defeating Grambling's Ekaterina Dziova in straight sets on scores of 6-2, 6-1. The Wildcats also prevailed at No. 2 singles, where Zahara El-Zein dispatched Grambling's Ximena Raya-Arrendondo 6-1, 6-3.
 
The most dramatic match of the day came at No. 3 singles, where Grambling's Jovana Latinovic outlasted B-CU senior Allexii Bassette in a marathon contest. After dropping the first set 2-6, Latinovic fought back to win the second set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4), before eventually prevailing in an extended super-tiebreaker 14-12.
 
GSU controlled the remainder of singles play, with Takudzwa Mawisire defeating Keona Burley 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4. Sofia Rajic was victorious on court five with a 6-0, 6-0 win over the Wildcats' Lesa Snipes-Williams. And at the No. 6 spot, Emmory Simmons claimed a victory when Cats freshman Anne Cerne was forced to retire with injury after dropping the first set 6-0.
 
ALABAMA A&M 4, B-CU 0
Injuries played a big role in the second match of the day Sunday evening, as Bethune-Cookman fell to Alabama A&M 4-0 at Olean Black Underwood Tennis Center on the campus of Alabama State in Montgomery, Alabama. The match served as a makeup from the SWAC Pod #1 in Mississippi, where weather forced the match to be played Sunday in Alabama.
 
Alabama A&M (7-9, 6-2 SWAC) grabbed the early 1-0 lead by clinching the doubles point, as Bethune-Cookman was unable to field a No. 3 team due to injuries. The Bulldogs used a win at the No. 2 position with Gabrielle Henderson and Sofia Raya defeating the Cats duo of Keona Burley and Lesa Snipes-Williams 6-0.
 
In singles play, the Bulldogs fielded Valentine Talaki at the No. 3 spot as she was able to fight past B-CU's Keona Burley 6-0, 6-1 in straight-set fashion. The Bulldogs also benefited from forfeit victories at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, which secured the overall match win, as Bethune-Cookman (2-14, 1-7 SWAC), as previously mentioned, was riddled with injuries from the day's earlier match.
 
The remaining singles matches were left unfinished, with AAMU players holding leads across the board.
 
At No. 1 singles, Bethune-Cookman's Jalayah Shaw trailed Ntokozo Zungu 0-6, 0-1 when play was halted. At No. 2, Zahara El-Zein was behind Alicia Owegi 3-5, and at No. 4, Lesa Snipes-Williams trailed Gabrielle Henderson 0-6, 1-5.
 


B-CU closes the regular season portion of the schedule on Saturday, April 5, when Head Coach Chris Wollett and the Cats travel to Tallahassee, Florida to face off against Florida A&M in a SWAC match.
 


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B-CU VS. GRAMBLING COMPLETE RESULTS
Singles Competition
1. Jalayah Shaw (BCU) def. Ekaterina Dziova (GSU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Zahara El-Zein (BCU) def. X. Raya-Arrendondo (GSU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Jovana Latinovic (GSU) def. Allexii Bassette (BCU) 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 14-12
4. Takudzwa Mawisire (GSU) def. Keona Burley (BCU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Sofia Rajic (GSU) def. Lesa Snipes-Williams (BCU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Emmory Simmons (GSU) def. Anne Cerne (BCU) 6-0, retired
 
Doubles Competition
1. Jalayah Shaw/Allexii Bassette (BCU) vs. Ekaterina Dziova/Jovana Latinovic (GSU) 3-4, unfinished
2. Takudzwa Mawisire/Sofia Rajic (GSU) def. Zahara El-Zein/Keona Burley (BCU) 6-1
3. Emmory Simmons/Claire Machisa (GSU) def. Lesa Snipes-Williams/Anne Cerne (BCU) 6-0
 
 
B-CU VS. ALABAMA A&M COMPLETE RESULTS
Singles Competition
1. Jalayah Shaw (BCU) vs. Ntokozo Zungu (AAMU) 0-6, 0-1, unfinished
2. Zahara El-Zein (BCU) vs. Alicia Owegi (AAMU) 3-5, unfinished
3. Valentine A. Talaki (AAMU) def. Keona Burley (BCU) 6-0, 6-1
4. Lesa Snipes-Williams (BCU) vs. Gabrielle Henderson (AAMU) 0-6, 1-5, unfinished
5. Sofia Sotelo Raya (AAMU) won by forfeit
6. Hannah Nagpall (AAMU) won by forfeit
 
Doubles Competition
1. Jalayah Shaw/Zahara El-Zein (BCU) vs. Yana Dhamija/Alicia Owegi (AAMU) 2-3, unfinished
2. Gabrielle Henderson/Sofia Sotelo Raya (AAMU) def. Keona Burley/Lesa Snipes-Williams (BCU) 6-0
3. Naomi Blanks/Ntokozo Zungu (AAMU) won by forfeit