Box Score TYLER, Texas – The Jones College women's tennis team posted its highest finish ever in the NJCAA Division I Tournament this week.
The Bobcats earned 23 points and finished tied seventh in the tournament, which was hosted by Tyler Junior College at the Joann Medlock Murphy Tennis Center.
It is also the highest finish ever for an MACCC women's team in Division I.
Jones won all eight of its opening day matches on May 4 and led the tournament with 16 points. That is the first time in history for a Bobcat team to accomplish that feat.
Cowley (Kansas) won the event with 50 points and Hillsborough (Florida) was second with 44. Host Tyler finished third with 39 points. Barton (Kansas) tied Jones for seventh with 23 points.
Other Mississippi schools in the tournament were Meridian in 10th place with 17 points, Mississippi Gulf Coast tied for 12th with 14 points and Copiah-Lincoln and Northwest tied for 16th with 10.5 points.
On the first day of the event,
Helen Hernandez defeated Iowa Central's Ayawavi Dotse in No. 1 singles, 6-3, 7-6 and
Guadalupe Tocci won No. 2 singles when Amelia Stone of Eglin (Illinois) retired.
Daniela Tovar beat Jinsol Yang of Collin (Texas) in No. 3 singles, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Molly Bennett whipped Taylor Wasson of Mesa (Arizona) in No. 4 singles, 6-0, 6-2.
Annalyn Housley blanked Chloe Baker of Weatherford (Texas) in No. 5 singles, 6-0, 6-0 and
Maggie Savell downed Ann Van. Binsenberg of Wallace St. (Alabama) in No. 6 singles, 6-1, 6-1.
In the first round of doubles, Hernandez and Bennett beat Leticia Kitio and Valeria Vargas of Mercer (New Jersey), 6-1, 6-3 in No. 1 doubles. Savell and Housley whipped Alyssa Garcia and Aylona Seferi of Lewis and Clark (Illinois), 6-1, 6-0.
Tovar, Bennett and Savell won second round singles matches.
Tovar beat Emily Macri of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (Georgia), 6-2, 6-1. Bennett blanked Grace Ann Wade of Northwest, 6-0, 6-0 and Savell whipped Lara Torres of Seward (Kansas), 6-3, 6-1.
Hernandez, Tocci and Housley were eliminated in round two. Hernandez fell in a close match to Camilla Anjioni of Jacksonville (Texas), 3-6, 6-2, 4-6. Tocci lost to Polya Nikolova of Seward, 4-6, 1-6 and Housley lost 0-6, 0-6 to Sanne Schoorman of Hillsborough.
In second round doubles play, Hernandez and Bennett beat Isabella Quintero and Randy Rakotoarilala of Meridian, 7-5, 6-4. Tocci and Tovar downed Amelia Anding and Cheludo Monnayoo of Meridian, 6-2, 6-2. Savell and Housley were eliminated by Mariana Jimenez and Serena Pereyra of Cowley, 2-6, 1-6.
In third round singles play, Bennett lost to Yoana Dudova of Hillsborough, 0-6, 3-6 and Tovar lost to Pereyra, 0-6, 0-6.
In third round doubles action, Bennett and Hernandez fell to Isabela Mercante and Rima Yoshida of St. Petersburg (Florida), 4-6, 0-6. Tocci and Tovar lost in a three-set match to Amelia Devlin and Zoi Spyrou of Tyler, 4-6, 6-3, 2-6.
