Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eloundou Nga Shines for Cameroon at Billie Jean King Cup
7/31/2023 9:48:00 AM | Tennis
Rising senior led her nation to a third-place showing in Group IV with an 8-1 record
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Linda Eloundou Nga (Yaounde, Cameroon/Augustine Meyou/New Mexico Military Institute), a rising senior with the Eastern Michigan University tennis program, competed for her native Cameroon at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Group IV tournament in Kigali, Rwanda, where she led her team to a third-place finish. The event, which was held June 5-10, was played on the clay courts at the Ecology Tennis Club in Kigali.
"Playing in the event was a roller coaster of emotions," Eloundou Nga said. "I was more than happy to be part of the Cameroon National team and represent my beautiful country. The biggest difference for me from the last time I played (2017) is that I had more experience entering the tournament and I knew the level of other players I was about to play against. I was so honored and happy to represent my country and I was determined to win all my matches. All the girls were motivated and determined and the results followed. We all competed well and I feel we hoisted the flag of our dear and beautiful Cameroon very high."
Eloundou Nga's Cameroon team was one of a record 134 nations entered into the international tournament that began in May and runs through the world finals in November. Those 134 nations combined to make the Cup, which is in its 60th year, the world's largest annual international team competition in women's sport.
Action got underway June 5 with Cameroon suffering its only defeat, a 2-1 setback to Madagascar, who eventually won the Group IV tournament to earn promotion to Group III in 2024's event. Eloundou Nga dropped her singles match, 6-2, 6-4, to Mialy Ranaivo, which would prove to be her only loss of the tournament. From there, she reeled off five wins in a row in singles play and added three doubles victories as Cameroon defeated Congo, Lesotho, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal all by 3-0 scores before handing Rwanda a 3-0 defeat in the third-place playoff final.
In singles, Eloundou Nga dropped just two games in the final four matches of pool play before closing the tournament with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Olive Tuyisenge of Rwanda. In doubles, Eloundou Nga and her teammates did not surrender a point, winning all three of their matches, 6-0, 6-0. All told, she played 18 sets of tennis over six consecutive days and surrendered just 18 points total. She finished the week 5-1 in singles and 3-0 in doubles, which marked her first wins in the tournament after dropping two singles and three doubles matches at the 2017 event.
For all things EMU Tennis, be sure to check out the team's social media accounts, including EMUEaglesTennis on Twitter and EMU_Tennis on Instagram.
2023 Billie Jean King Cup
Ecology Tennis Club (clay) • Kigali, Rwanda
Group IV Play • June 5-10
Pool B Play
June 5 • Madagascar def. Cameroon, 2-1
Singles: Mialy Ranaivo def. Eloundou Nga, 6-2, 6-4
June 6 • Cameroon def. Congo, 3-0
Singles: Eloundou Nga def. Tricia Bakouboula, 6-0, 6-0
Doubles: Eloundou Nga/Ngone Hagal def. Logeat/Odongo, 6-0, 6-0
June 7 • Cameroon def. Lesotho, 3-0
Singles: Eloundou Nga def. Seapei Senatla, 6-1, 6-0
Doubles: Eloundou Nga/Ngone Hagal def. Khabele/Moseme, 6-0, 6-0
June 8 • Cameroon def. Democratic Republic of Congo, 3-0
Singles: Eloundou Nga def. Charlene Wantona Bunkuta, 6-1, 6-0
Doubles: Eloundou Nga/Job def. Bosman Egate/Wantona Bunkota, 6-0, 6-1
June 9 • Cameroon def. Senegal, 3-0
Singles: Eloundou Nga def. Marietou Andre, 6-0, 6-0
Group IV Playoff (Third Place Match)
June 10 • Cameroon def. Rwanda, 3-0
Singles: Eloundou Nga def. Olive Tuyisenge, 6-2, 6-1
"Playing in the event was a roller coaster of emotions," Eloundou Nga said. "I was more than happy to be part of the Cameroon National team and represent my beautiful country. The biggest difference for me from the last time I played (2017) is that I had more experience entering the tournament and I knew the level of other players I was about to play against. I was so honored and happy to represent my country and I was determined to win all my matches. All the girls were motivated and determined and the results followed. We all competed well and I feel we hoisted the flag of our dear and beautiful Cameroon very high."
Eloundou Nga's Cameroon team was one of a record 134 nations entered into the international tournament that began in May and runs through the world finals in November. Those 134 nations combined to make the Cup, which is in its 60th year, the world's largest annual international team competition in women's sport.
Action got underway June 5 with Cameroon suffering its only defeat, a 2-1 setback to Madagascar, who eventually won the Group IV tournament to earn promotion to Group III in 2024's event. Eloundou Nga dropped her singles match, 6-2, 6-4, to Mialy Ranaivo, which would prove to be her only loss of the tournament. From there, she reeled off five wins in a row in singles play and added three doubles victories as Cameroon defeated Congo, Lesotho, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal all by 3-0 scores before handing Rwanda a 3-0 defeat in the third-place playoff final.
In singles, Eloundou Nga dropped just two games in the final four matches of pool play before closing the tournament with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Olive Tuyisenge of Rwanda. In doubles, Eloundou Nga and her teammates did not surrender a point, winning all three of their matches, 6-0, 6-0. All told, she played 18 sets of tennis over six consecutive days and surrendered just 18 points total. She finished the week 5-1 in singles and 3-0 in doubles, which marked her first wins in the tournament after dropping two singles and three doubles matches at the 2017 event.
For all things EMU Tennis, be sure to check out the team's social media accounts, including EMUEaglesTennis on Twitter and EMU_Tennis on Instagram.
2023 Billie Jean King Cup
Ecology Tennis Club (clay) • Kigali, Rwanda
Group IV Play • June 5-10
Pool B Play
June 5 • Madagascar def. Cameroon, 2-1
Singles: Mialy Ranaivo def. Eloundou Nga, 6-2, 6-4
June 6 • Cameroon def. Congo, 3-0
Singles: Eloundou Nga def. Tricia Bakouboula, 6-0, 6-0
Doubles: Eloundou Nga/Ngone Hagal def. Logeat/Odongo, 6-0, 6-0
June 7 • Cameroon def. Lesotho, 3-0
Singles: Eloundou Nga def. Seapei Senatla, 6-1, 6-0
Doubles: Eloundou Nga/Ngone Hagal def. Khabele/Moseme, 6-0, 6-0
June 8 • Cameroon def. Democratic Republic of Congo, 3-0
Singles: Eloundou Nga def. Charlene Wantona Bunkuta, 6-1, 6-0
Doubles: Eloundou Nga/Job def. Bosman Egate/Wantona Bunkota, 6-0, 6-1
June 9 • Cameroon def. Senegal, 3-0
Singles: Eloundou Nga def. Marietou Andre, 6-0, 6-0
Group IV Playoff (Third Place Match)
June 10 • Cameroon def. Rwanda, 3-0
Singles: Eloundou Nga def. Olive Tuyisenge, 6-2, 6-1
Players Mentioned
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