Bulldogs get nationals off to winning start
Mississippi Gulf Coast got its NJCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship off to a good start Monday, winning its only match on the opening day in Plano, Texas.
Brennan McGlothin (Fr., French Camp/French Camp Academy) took care of RCSJ-Glouster's Maddox Marker in straight sets in the round of 32 of the No. 3 singles draw.
"Brennan went out there and did exactly what he needed to do, which was make a lot of balls," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "He took care of the short balls he got when they came. The guy he played was a solid player, and Brennan did what he needed to do."
The whole team will be in action Tuesday at the Collin College Tennis Facility. All eight other brackets have seeded Bulldogs in them, including top-seeded Jan Bako (Fr., Ostrava, Czech Republic/Hladnov) and Warren Hudson (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) in No. 2 doubles.
Gulf Coast is 12th in the ITA Rankings, which includes Division I teams. The Bulldogs are the third-highest Division II team, behind Alabama schools Wallace State and Coastal Alabama-South.
The MGCCC women's tennis team finished third at their national championship last week, and this week the men's team is aiming for another high finish.
"I think our chances are pretty good," Blackburn said. "We've got to play our style of tennis and not do anything abnormal or different. We need to be ready to step up and play good tennis against good players, which we're going to have in most matches. We also have to be ready against players we have the upper hand over to not take them lightly. If we keep a level head and play our style, we'll have a really good chance to make a deep run in all the brackets."
- NJCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship
May 11-15, 2026
Collin College Tennis Facility
Plano, Texas
All Times Central
Monday, May 11
Singles Round of 32
No. 3: Brennan McGlothin (GC) def. Maddox Marker (RCSJ-Glouster), 6-3, 6-0
Tuesday, May 12
Singles Round of 16
No. 1: (4) Angel Hernandez (GC) vs. TD Hilliard (Oakton), 11 a.m.
No. 2: (3) Jan Bako (GC) vs. Eshaan Khera (Oxford-Emory), 12:15 a.m.
No. 3: Brennan McGlothin (GC) vs. (1) Milan Olagnon (Coastal Alabama-South), 12:15 p.m.
No. 4: (4) Ryland Buford (GC) vs. Adegoke Oni (Mercer), 1:30 p.m.
No. 5: (4) Nick Dulaney (GC) vs. Alex Kassatly (Oxford-Emory), 1:30 p.m.
No. 6: (3) Warren Hudson (GC) vs. Michael Milota (Illinois Valley), 2:45 p.m.
Doubles Round of 16
No. 1: (5) Angel Hernandez-Ryland Buford (GC) vs. Marshawn Gallego-Seth Lampkin (Lake County), 5:15 p.m.
No. 2: (1) Jan Bako-Warren Hudson (GC) vs. Krug-Sifuentes (Illinois Valley) or Alex Kassatly-Skye Thomson (Oxford-Emory), 5:15 p.m.
No. 3: (3) Santiago Enriquez-Taylor Cook (GC) vs. Sebastian Bastos Diaz-Diego Sasamoto Pareja (Paradise Valley), 6:30 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.
