MOBILE, Alabama - Six Seminole State College tennis players traveled to the 2010 Fall USTA/ITA Small College National Championships in Mobile, Alabama last week, and one of those six came home as National Champion.
Mbonisi Ndimande, a sophomore from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, won three straight matches to win the NJCAA Singles Championship. In his first round match on Thursday, Ndimande made quick work of Fresno City College's John Bertram by a score of 6-1, 6-1. The win moved Ndimande into the Semi-Final's on Friday, where he faced Derek Siddiqui of Cerritos College from California. Mbonisi would drop the first set quickly by a score of 6-2, but regained his momentum and took the second and third set to win the match 2-6, 6-1; 6-4. This win would set up Ndimande to play in the title match on Saturday against Salif Kante, from Georgia Perimeter College. In the Championship match, Ndimande came out hot and took the first set 6-2. The second set was much closer and came down to the end, but Mbonisi was able to break serve and win the second set and the Championship by a final score of 6-2, 6-4.
This is Seminole State's first ever singles title and second individual tennis National Championship as James Vinkis and Andres Nunez won a doubles title in the fall of 2007.
