No. 12 MGCC blows past No. 19 Eagles

No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast cruised to a win over No. 19 Meridian on Tuesday, winning 8-1 in the Bulldogs' MACCC women's tennis opener.

"For being the first conference match, they came out ready to play, and they looked good," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "Going up 2-1 in doubles was big, and the momentum and energy followed into singles. They looked hungry and didn't look satisfied after getting breaks or winning the first set."

The Bulldogs improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the MACCC. They won their first conference match in a forfeit, getting off to a strong start.

Danique Vermue (So., 's-Heerenhoek, Netherlands/Scheldemon College) and Valeria Callejo-Vivar (So., Madrid, Spain/I.E.S. Ortega y Gasset) won at No. 1 doubles, and Dallas Tanner (So., Hattiesburg/Oak Grove) and Karla Bethea (So., Edwards/Homeschool) claimed the No. 3 point, both by dominating 8-1 scores.

Vermue needed a third-set tiebreaker to win her No. 1 singles match, but all the other courts were Bulldog wins in straight sets.

"They played together," Blackburn said. "Their camaraderie was really good and got them a good team win today."

Meridian is now 4-1 overall, 1-1 MACCC.

Gulf Coast entertains Northeast Mississippi in another conference match Friday. First serves at the MGCCC Tennis Complex are set for 2 p.m. 

Results

Team: Gulf Coast 8, Meridian 1

Doubles

No. 1: Danique Vermue-Valeria Callejo-Vivar (GC) def. Daisi Kukuljan-Reine Akombo, 8-1

No. 2: Lilly Hollingsworth-Cheludo Monnayoo (MER) def. Isona Arnaus-Lauren Sullivan, 8-4

No. 3: Dallas Tanner-Karla Bethea (GC) def. Aleah McMullan-Katherine Bounds, 8-1

Singles

No. 1: Vermue (GC) def. Monnayoo, 6-1, 6-7, 10-7

No. 2: Callejo-Vivar (GC) def. Akombo, 6-1, 6-0

No. 3: Arnaus (GC) def. Kukuljan, 6-0, 6-3

No. 4: Sullivan (GC) def. Hollingsworth, 6-4, 6-0

No. 5: Tanner (GC) def. Elizabeth Shirley, 6-2, 6-1

No. 6: Bethea (GC) def. McMullan, 6-4, 6-0

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