- Kenya-born tennis rising star Cynthia Cheruto has been named the Most Valuable Player at Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kansas.
- She is also ranked second in doubles, while in singles she sits 17th in the NJCAA Women’s Collegiate Tennis rankings.
- The 21-year-old accolade comes shortly after she helped her team, the Lady Tigers, dominate the regional tournament in both singles and doubles.
Kenya-born tennis rising star Cynthia Cheruto was named the Most Valuable Player at Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kansas, United States.
The 21-year-old honor comes just after she helped her squad, the Lady Tiger tennis team, dominate the region tournament in both singles and doubles, where they seized four singles titles and two doubles championships.
The No. 2-ranked Cowley College women’s tennis team walked away with the Region VI title in Pratt, KS.
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The 2023 African Games silver medalist in doubles managed to lock down a singles title after defeating Paula Elena Oborocea (Seward) 6-0, 6-4, and then overcoming Danira Gabriel Ndengoue Kenmeni (Barton) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the region title match.
In doubles, she was paired up with Garcia Galian, and together they toppled Campigotto and Ndengoue Kenmeni (Barton) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 before beating Akombo and Lobotenko (Seward) 7-5, 6-4 in the region title clash.
During that tourney, Cowley captured six of the nine individual region titles and finished with 13.5 team points. Barton and Pratt tied for second with 7 points each, while Seward landed fourth with four points.
Kenya’s Cynthia Cheruto crowned Cowley College MVP
On top of her performance and being named MVP, Cheruto has also climbed in the recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (“ITA”) NJCAA Women’s Collegiate tennis rankings.
In doubles alongside Garcia, they have been slotted second, while her singles efforts have pushed her to 17th place nationally.
Cheruto and the Lady Tigers will enjoy some time off before competing in the NJCAA Division 1 Tennis Championships from May 2–6 in Sumter, SC, where she’ will aim to keep up her dominance.
Also known as Wanjala, she is just one of a few Kenyans making waves outside the country, following in the footsteps of Kenya’s top-ranked tennis star Angella Okutoyi, who has been making strides.
Okutoyi recently made history in the United States after helping her university, Auburn University, capture its first SEC tournament title at the 2026 SEC Women’s Tennis Championship held at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman.
Angella helped secure victories in both the women’s doubles and singles matches. In singles, she staged a sensational comeback to reach the final stage, where her team edged out No. 15 LSU in a tight 4–3 battle decided by a three-set win from freshman Eva Ionescu at the No. 6 singles spot.
At the No. 2 position, the 22-year-old teamed up with Merna Refaat, and the pair grabbed an early 3–1 lead over LSU’s Kenna Erickson and Ella McDonald. Leading 4–2, the Auburn duo claimed the next two games to seal the doubles point for Auburn.