No. 16 MGCCC qualifies for national tournament

PERKINSTON – No. 16 Mississippi Gulf Coast players won three championships Saturday at the MACJC/Region 23 Tennis Tournament, paving the way for a return trip to the national tournament.

"It's very exciting this year, especially, with the injuries we've had on the team." Bulldogs coach Gary Bourgeois said. "It's the second year in a row we've come in second. The effort we had today was incredible. I'm very proud of the way we performed under pressure."

With Jones County lurking close behind in third, Gulf Coast needed a couple wins to seal the runner-up spot. Meridian won the men's team championship.

The Bulldogs' Noah Tippen won the No. 3 singles title, and Brennan O'Keefe won at No. 6. They teamed to win the No. 2 doubles championship, beating Chase Pennington and Taylor Tamberg from Jones, 6-1, 6-3.

Gulf Coast's Brett Bowen and Chris Diep lost in the No. 3 doubles finals to Copiah-Lincoln's Braxton Hinton and Drake Nelson, 6-1, 6-1.

The Bulldogs will play in the NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Tournament, to be held May 16-20 at Plano, Texas.

O'Keefe defeated Meridian's Walt Harrington 6-2, 6-0. He said it was the first true state championship.

"I went to his backhand a lot, which was my plan in the beginning," O'Keefe said. "It seemed to work, and I stayed consistent."

Tippen had a nip-and-tuck match with Meridian's Noah James. He pulled it out 7-5, 7-6 (7-4).

"It's awesome," he said. "I've been thinking about it since I committed. Coach showed me the ring in his office, and I wanted one."

For complete tournament brackets and results, go to Tournament Central: http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tournament