Ettrick, VA – For the fourth straight year, the
Shaw University Lady Bears and the
Johnson C. Smith University Golden Bulls battled for the CIAA Women's Tennis title Saturday morning. The same result followed as Shaw defeated JCSU 4-0 to capture the 2023 CIAA title. With the win, Shaw has now captured the last five CIAA women's tennis titles bringing their total to 12 CIAA championships.
The contest started out close in three fierce doubles matchups with Shaw coming away with the point earning wins at the the number two spot as CIAA Player of the Year Anja Antonijevic and partner Sevval Ozesker earned a 6-3 win over JCSU's
Shay'Tonya Missick and
Chengeto Moyana . The clinhing doubles matchup would come from the number three spot as Jessa Michieli and Hafsa Sanhaji also earmed a 6-3 win topping the Golden Bulls tandem of
Taylor Proffett-Brooks and
Maykayla Ramos.
Heading into singles play with the point advantage, Shaw took singles wins one, three and five spots to receive the needed four points to claim the 2023 title. Antonijevic, who earned the win in the third slot by the score of 6-1, 6-1 also came away with tournament MVP honors. The Lady Bears will now await their postseason fate in the NCAA Division II Regionals.