NEW ORLEANS, La. – A pair of marathon doubles matches would set the tone as No. 4 seed Alabama A&M (5-6, 4-3 SWAC) earn a spot in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament Semifinals as they outlasted Alcorn State (3-13, 2-5 SWAC) by a 4-2 score in an NCAA Division I women's tennis match on Friday, April 16.
 
Facing a team they had barely beaten by a 4-3 score just over a month ago, the Bulldogs were immediately tested as the No. 3 tandem of Jaime Edwards and Tangia Riley-Codrington posted a 6-3 victory over junior Ximena Duarte Ramirez (Asuncion, Paraguay) and senior Nthabiseng Mashego (Alabaster, Ala.).
 
From there A&M's top doubles team of juniors Jasmine Boyd (Marion, Ind.) and Anita Bozhko (Minsk, Belarus) kept the doubles point alive as they battled to a 7-6 decision over Mikaela Konstantinova and Aizat Zholdakyeva to knot up the frame.
 
That would leave the point to be decided at the No. 2 spot where junior India Woods (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) and sophomore Camila Ruiz Diaz (Asuncion, Paraguay) pulled out another 7-6 nail biter, defeating Stefany Grlj and Kimberley Kaome to take a 1-0 lead.
 
They would build on that right away in singles as Boyd knocked off Riley-Codrington at No. 1 by a 6-1, 6-2 score to double the lead while Ruiz Diaz put them on the cusp of a victory with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Edwards at the four spot.
 
The Braves would battle back as a 6-2, 6-4 win by Zholdakyeva over Duarte Ramirez at No. 3 got them on the board at 3-1 and Grlj got them within one with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Woods. That would be as close as they would come, however, as sophomore Neha Ghare (Pune, India), as she had done in the first meeting, had the decisive victory.
 
Playing at the No. 5 position she took the first set over Kaome by a 6-1 score before falling by that same mark in the second set. It would be no contest in the tiebreaker, however, as Ghare drove home a 6-2 decision to put A&M into the semifinals with a 4-2 win.
 
Alabama A&M will now face rival and No. 1 seed Alabama State in the semifinals on Saturday, April 17. First serve is yet to be determined as severe weather dramatically impacted the tournament schedule on Day 1. Stay tuned to www.AAMUSports.com for all schedule updates and results for this year's trip to the SWAC Tournament.
 
ALABAMA A&M 4, ALCORN STATE 2
Doubles
No. 1 Jasmine Boyd/Anita Bozhko def. Mikaela Konstantinova/Aizat Zholdakyeva 7-6
No. 2 India Woods/Camila Ruiz Diaz def. Stefany Grlj/ Kimberley Kaome 7-6
No. 3 Jaime Edwards/Tangia Riley-Codrington def. Ximena Duarte Ramirez/Nthabiseng Mashego 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
 
Singles
No. 1 Jasmine Boyd def. Tangia Riley-Codrington 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Anita Bozhko vs. Mikaela Konstantinova 5-7, 7-5, 4-4 (UF)
No. 3 Aizat Zholdakyeva def. Ximena Duarte Ramirez 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 Camila Ruiz Diaz def. Jaime Edwards 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 Neha Ghare def. Kimberley Kaome 6-1, 1-6, 6-2
No. 6 Stefany Grlj def. India Woods 7-5, 6-1
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3, 6, 5