JACKSON, Miss. – Bethune-Cookman tennis will make the trek to Jackson, Mississippi for an appearance at the SWAC Fall Tournament on the campus of Jackson State.

Returning starters Roselida Asumwa and Maria Romero Vargas will represent Bethune-Cookman in Jackson. It will be their first time competing in the Fall Tournament.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced the tournament brackets Friday morning, with the Wildcats set to compete in singles and doubles during the two-day event.

Doubles competition begins Monday at 10 a.m. EST, with B-CU set to take on Grambling State in the opening round. The winner will then go on to face Southern in the quarterfinals.

The final two rounds will take place Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m. with the quarterfinals and concluding with the championship at 2 p.m.

Singles play will start at 11:30 a.m. EST, with Asumwa scheduled to face Matea Andelic of Grambling State. The winner will play the victor between Kesmat El Tawil of Alabama State and Halla Eltohamy of Mississippi Valley State.

The singles bracket will also conclude Tuesday. The semifinals will take place at 11:30 a.m. and the final will begin sometime around 4 p.m.

The Wildcats last competed back in September at the HBCU Nationals in Atlanta.

In Flight A doubles, Zahara El-Zein and Jalayah Shaw opened the tournament with a dominant 6-0 victory over Grambling's Ja'Liyah Bradford and Trinity Hope. Maria Romero Vargas and Roselida Asumwa dropped their opening match to Oihane Villanueva Lopez and Jennyar Elbakary of Alcorn State 6-2. El-Zein and Shaw then advanced to the quarterfinals before falling 6-2 to Alabama State's Alexia Campagna and Cleanne Pickel.

Bethune-Cookman also produced a strong showing in Flight B doubles. Newcomer Marissa Alexander teamed with Alabama A&M's Lavynia Sa to advance past Jackson State's Mariia Iordanova and Alabama State's Rim Assanhaji, winning 7-6 (7-5) in the Round of 16 before falling 6-4 to Alcorn's Amelia Tatafu and Zoe Crimmel in the quarterfinals.

Madison Molock and Taylor O'Neal advanced the furthest of any B-CU doubles team. The duo defeated Norfolk State's Ines Sabadie and Kayla Kennedy, 7-6 (7-4), in the Round of 16 before earning another tiebreak victory in the quarterfinals, defeating Howard's Lyric Wilson and Chloe Goins, 7-6 (7-2). The pair recovered from a large deficit early in the match to earn their way to the semifinals.

Molock and O'Neal's run came to an end in the semifinals, where they fell 7-5 to Alabama State's Liou Souplet-Guerne and Kesmat El Tawil.

In singles competition, Roselida Asumwa earned B-CU's lone Flight A singles win, defeating Grambling's Emmory Simmons, 6-0, 6-3, in the Round of 32 before falling to Alabama State's Kesmat El Tawil, 6-0, 6-0, in the Round of 16.

Taylor O'Neal split the first two sets with Xavier (La.)'s Mia Edwards, 3-6, 6-1, before falling 10-8 in the deciding tiebreak.

Bethune-Cookman's other singles competitors included Maria Romero Vargas, Zahara El-Zein, Jalayah Shaw, and Madison Molock, who each competed in the opening rounds of their respective flights.

Molock, in particular, produced a strong showing in the singles consolation bracket. She took down FAMU's Amber Beautelus, 8-3, Howard's Lyric Wilson, 8-5, and Jackson State's Larissa Tudora, 8-3 before finally falling, 8-2, to Aleynah Thomas in the consolation final. 
 

Follow Bethune-Cookman Tennis on X/Twitter (@CatsTennis) and Instagram (@BCUTennis) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on X/Twitter (@BCUAthletics), Instagram (@BCU_Athletics) and BCUathletics.com.