More to Prove: Jones Tennis is Undefeated and Heading to Nationals

May 17th, 2024

As regular season matches come to an end, both men and women’s tennis teams reminisce on their outstanding season.

Let us start with the women. This 2023–24 season, the Bobcats have gone undefeated. Not a single loss has tainted their record. Going 22–0 overall and 9–0 in conference, they have won every single match they have competed in this season. It did not matter if the game was home, away, against the ranked team, or not; the Bobcats delivered a win every. single. time. They recently went undefeated in the Sumter JUCO invite, defeating ranked No. 18 team Abraham Baldwin 8-1 and two other unranked teams 9-0. They also recently competed and swept their Region 23 Tournament against all ranked teams, No. 25 East Central (5-0), No. 15 Itawamba (5-0) and No. 12 Gulf Coast (5-1). They are set to compete in the NJCAA DI National Tournament May 4^th -May 8^th in Tyler, Texas.

A huge congratulations to the Bobcats for finishing ranked as the sixth best team in the nation for women’s JUCO tennis.

The men’s team is just as impressive. They had an undefeated conference season as well and went 20–3 overall. The men’s team also finishes nationally at No. 12 due to their successful season. Similar to the women, the Jones men’s team just went undefeated in their Region 23 Tournament where they downed ranked teams with ease. Their first match was against Northeast, resulting in an easy 5-1 dub. This was followed by two ranked opponents, No. 21 Copiah-Lincoln (5-0) and No. 16 Itawamba (5-2). The men’s team is also set to compete in the NJCAA DI National Tournament in Plano, Texas May 13th – May 17th.

A team is nothing without a coach. Brooke Buffington rightfully earned the 2024 ITAA JUCO Region II award on the women’s side for coach of the year. Similarly, Juan Pinilla was able to secure the assistant coach of the year award. The team’s records speak for themselves, and both the awards were deserved.