NJCAA Tennis rained out in SC

The first round of NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship got rained out Monday.

No. 15 Mississippi Gulf Coast will looks to get their tournament start Tuesday when the Florence, S.C., weather looks more promising.

"We're going to try to stay locked in and not feel like we're on a vacation and relax too much," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "We're here for a reason, and we're one of the best teams in country. We need to keep that mindset going. I think this team has a really good chance of finishing in the top 10. We like our draws in singles, so we have to stay locked in mentally."

The matches are being played at the Dr. Eddie Floyd Tennis Center, which has 24 lighted courts. But they're no match for the rain.

The Bulldogs were looking to go back over to the University of South Carolina, which is about an hour away. They practiced in the Gamecocks' indoor facility on Sunday. 

When the first-round matchups were revealed, Moritz Stroebel (Fr., Metzingen, Germany/Theodor-Heuss-Schule Reutlingen) had earned a sixth seed in No. 3 singles. Paul Gayk was an eight-seed at No. 1 two years ago, but nobody in the last 10 years has been seeded higher than Stroebel.

"He's gotta back that up now and show the country how good he can play, but he has earned the right to be that high," Blackburn said. "It's very much deserved. He's earned that and now gets the opportunity to make a run. He can do that if he's locked in and focused."

2025 NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship

Florence, S.C.

May 12-16

Tuesday

Main Draw

First Round

Singles

No. 1: Vicente Faria (GC) vs. Eduardo Vargas (Bevill State), 8 a.m.

No. 2: Gonzalo Cotter (GC) vs. Anderson Fernandes (Marion Military), 8 a.m.

No. 3: (6) Moritz Stroebel (GC) vs. Andre Dogbefu (USC Sumter), 9:30 a.m.

No. 4: Ryland Buford (GC) vs. Pablo Galan (Lake County), 9:30 a.m.

No. 5: Jordan Mitchell (GC) vs. Enrique Urquidi (Mesa), 9:30 a.m.

No. 6: Nick Dulaney (GC) vs. Vinny Marine (Lake County), 11 a.m.

Doubles

No. 1: Vicente Faria-Moritz Stroebel (GC) vs. Juwan Bae-Dan Hosono (Cowley), 1:30 p.m.

No. 2: Ryland Buford-Gonzalo Cotter (GC) vs. Yoog Gunani-Ben Lawrie (Prairie State), 1:30 p.m.

No. 3: Connor Harfield-Jordan Mitchell (GC), bye

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