Madison Molock and Taylor O’Neal advanced to the Flight B doubles semifinals, leading Bethune-Cookman University Women’s Tennis at the HBCU National Championships in Atlanta. The Bethune-Cookman pair defeated Norfolk State’s Ines Sabadie and Kayla Kennedy, 7-6 (7-4), in the Round of 16 before beating Howard’s Lyric Wilson and Chloe Goins, 7-6 (7-2), in the quarterfinals. Alabama State’s Liou Souplet-Guerne and Kesmat El Tawil ended the run with a 7-5 semifinal victory.
Molock and O’Neal advanced furthest among Bethune-Cookman’s doubles teams. Their quarterfinal win over Howard came after they recovered from a large deficit early in the match. The two tiebreak victories put the Bethune-Cookman duo into the Flight B semifinals.
“The chemistry between Madison and Taylor was great to see this weekend,” head coach Chris Wollet said. “In what ended up as a really great, high-energy, exciting match against the pair from Howard, they communicated well and it showed on the court. I was really proud of the results we saw.”
Bethune-Cookman advanced multiple doubles teams
Zahara El-Zein and Jalayah Shaw reached the Flight A doubles quarterfinals. They opened with a 6-0 victory over Grambling’s Ja’Liyah Bradford and Trinity Hope before losing 6-2 to Alabama State’s Alexia Campagna and Cleanne Pickel.
Marissa Alexander also reached the Flight B doubles quarterfinals while teaming with Alabama A&M’s Lavynia Sa. The pair defeated Jackson State’s Mariia Iordanova and Alabama State’s Rim Assanhaji, 7-6 (7-5), in the Round of 16. Alcorn State’s Amelia Tatafu and Zoe Crimmel then ended the run with a 6-4 quarterfinal victory.
Maria Romero Vargas and Roselida Asumwa lost their opening Flight A doubles match, 6-2, to Alcorn State’s Oihane Villanueva Lopez and Jennyar Elbakary. Bethune-Cookman still placed three doubles combinations in at least the quarterfinal round, with Molock and O’Neal producing the tournament’s deepest run for the program.
Roselida Asumwa earns Bethune-Cookman’s lone Flight A singles win
Roselida Asumwa earned Bethune-Cookman’s only Flight A singles victory. She defeated Grambling’s Emmory Simmons, 6-0, 6-3, in the Round of 32 before losing 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 before losing 10-8 in the deciding tiebreak. O’Neal lost the opening set 3-6 and won the second set 6-1. Bethune-Cookman’s other singles competitors included Maria Romero Vargas, Zahara El-Zein, Jalayah Shaw and Madison Molock.
Molock won three matches in the singles consolation bracket. She defeated FAMU’s Amber Beautelus, 8-3, Howard’s Lyric Wilson, 8-5, and Jackson State’s Larissa Tudora, 8-3, before losing 8-2 to Aleynah Thomas in the consolation final.
“Madison was definitely the highlight of a solid opener for the Wildcats,” Wollet said. “It would be easy to hang your head after a tough draw in her singles opener, but instead she beat three high-quality opponents and managed her match momentum very well. She took some big steps forward this week,and I’m looking forward to seeing her continue to grow this season.”
What comes next for Bethune-Cookman
Bethune-Cookman University’s fall schedule continues at the SWAC Fall Tournament on Oct. 2-3, 2026, in Jackson, Mississippi. The event follows the program’s opening competition at the HBCU National Championships. Molock and O’Neal’s semifinal appearance was the team’s top doubles result in Atlanta.
FSB Take
Bethune-Cookman University Women’s Tennis produced its strongest results in doubles at the HBCU National Championships. Molock and O’Neal reached the Flight B semifinals, while El-Zein and Shaw and Alexander also advanced to quarterfinals. Molock’s three singles consolation victories added another notable result before the program turns to the SWAC Fall Tournament in Jackson.
Source: Original report