No. 12 Bulldogs storm into R23 finals
No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast punched its ticket to the NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Tournament championship match on Friday, sweeping past No. 18 Copiah-Lincoln 5-0 in Ellisville.
The Bulldogs will face No. 12 Jones at 10 a.m. Both teams earned their way into the NJCAA Championship by winning Friday.
"It feels great to be back in the finals," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "We knew the team was capable this year, and I'm happy that it happened. It feels great, but we know there's more work to be done. I think we're ready for it."
Co-Lin (9-6) will play Northwest at 2 p.m. Saturday in the third-place match. That winner gets an automatic berth to the NJCAA Championship. It starts May 11 in Plano, Texas.
Gulf Coast (12-6) won the first two doubles points easily, with Angel Hernandez (Fr., Puebla, Mexico/UPAEP) and Ryland Buford (So., Gulfport/Gulfport) easing to an 8-2 win at No. 1. Santiago Enriquez (Fr., Encarnacion, Paraguay/CEUCE) and Taylor Cook (Fr., Olive Branch/Lewisburg) didn't drop a game at No. 3.
Jan Bako (Fr., Ostrava, Czech Republic/Hladnov) and Warren Hudson (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) had to battle back from 5-2 down at No. 2. They wound up closing out the doubles sweep with a 9-7 victory.
"The Co-Lin guys were playing really well, and they had a battle a little adversity," Blackburn said. "It took a little while to find their groove, and they finally did. They were tough mentally and did what they needed to do, make a little adjustment and prevail."
Buford dropped only two games in a straight-set win at No. 4 singles, and Nick Dulaney closed out the match with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 5.
Gulf Coast will be trying to avenge a 6-3 loss to Jones in March. It was the Bulldogs' only setback in MACCC play.
"We need to do what we did today and what we've been getting better at over the last couple matches," Blackburn said. "Our doubles were really solid today overall, and everybody was putting themselves in position to win their singles match, too. We've gotta be ready on every court and play like it like it's gonna depend on their court. If everybody comes with that mentality, we'll have a chance to get it done."
Results
Team: Gulf Coast 5, Copiah-Lincoln 0
Doubles
No. 1: Angel Hernandez-Ryland Buford (GC) def. Nikoloz Gurgenidze-Jake Bucek, 8-2
No. 2: Jan Bako-Warren Hudson (GC) def. Nicholas Tozer-Jax Leggett, 9-7
No. 3: Santiago Enriquez-Taylor Cook (GC) def. Lane Breland-Mason Brand, 8-0
Singles
No. 4: Buford (GC) def. James Rooks, 6-0, 6-2
No. 5: Nick Dulaney (GC) def. Brand, 6-4, 6-1
NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Tournament
April 16-18
Ellisville
Quarterfinals
Thursday, April 16
No. 1 Jones 5, No. 8 East Central 0
No. 4 Northwest Mississippi 5, No. 5 Southwest Mississippi 2
No. 2 Gulf Coast 5, No. 7 Itawamba 0
No. 3 Copiah-Lincoln 5, No. 6 Meridian 0
Semifinals
Friday, April 17
Jones 5, Northwest 1
Gulf Coast 5, Copiah-Lincoln 0
Championship
Saturday, April 18
Championship: Jones vs. Gulf Coast, 10 a.m.
Third-place: Northwest vs. Copiah-Lincoln, 2 p.m.
For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
