No. 13 MGCCC finishes 2nd in MACCC

No. 13 Mississippi Gulf Coast closed out its regular-season play in the MACCC with a powerful 7-2 win over No. 24 East Central on Thursday in Decatur.

"We're still down a couple of our starters, but we made adjustments to the doubles pairings, and it really paid off," Bulldogs coach Sam Blackburn said. "We handled business, and we were never really in danger of losing."

Gulf Coast improved to 9-6 overall, 8-1 MACCC. East Central is 6-8, 2-7.

The Bulldogs swept doubles to take charge of the match, with Brennan McGlothin (Fr., French Camp/French Camp Academy) and Warren Hudson (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) winning 8-2 as part of a rearranged No. 2 duo.

The final three singles courts were dominant, dropping only three games.

The Bulldogs clinched second place in the MACCC final standings, and that will be their seed in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament. It will be played April 16-18 in Ellisville.

"We've got some time to hopefully heal up a little bit," Blackburn said. "Either way, we know we've got a squad that can go there and make some noise. We know what we're capable of doing, and I think the next couple weeks would be great for us to get our minds and bodies right and healthy going to the tournament looking to win the thing." 

Gulf Coast closes out the regular season Friday in Jasper, Ala. The Bulldogs' match at Bevill State begins at 10 a.m.

Results

Team: Gulf Coast 7, East Central 2

Doubles

No. 1: Angel Hernandez-Jan Bako (GC) def. Benjamin Kadid-Jeronimo Restrepo, 8-5

No. 2: Brennan McGlothin-Warren Hudson (GC) def. Luis Rios Hernandez-Braiden Estes, 8-2

No. 3: Cree Cunningham-Connor Hartfield (GC) def. Thomas Sumrall-Seth Gipson, 8-5

Singles

No. 1: Hernandez (GC) def. Restrepo, 6-1, 5-7, 11-9

No. 2: Kadid (EC) def. Bako, 6-7, 7-5, 10-8

No. 3: Rios Hernandez (EC) def. McGlothin, 6-0, 6-1

No. 4: Hudson (GC) def. Estes, 6-0, 6-0

No. 5: Nick Dulaney (GC) def. Cory Smith, 6-0, 6-0

No. 6: Cunningham (GC) def. Sumrall, 6-2, 6-1

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.