No. 13 Gulf Coast trounces No. 18 ECCC

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast earned the No. 13 spot in the first Oracle/ITA NJCAA Rankings released Friday, then promptly beat No. 18 East Central 7-2 at the MGCCC Tennis Complex.

Gulf Coast is the highest-ranked MACCC team in the rankings, a spot ahead of Jones, reflecting the top of the conference standings. Copiah-Lincoln (19th), Itawamba (21st) and Meridian (23rd) are also in the top-25.

The highlight of the afternoon was a gripping match at No. 1 singles, with Seth Macute (Fr., Brisbane, Australia/St Joseph's Nudgee College) get a 6-4, 7-5 win. He reversed a tight three-set loss at Decatur the first time he played Chris Lawrance.

Gulf Coast (12-1, 10-0 MACCC) won 6-3 in the first meeting between the teams on Feb. 9.

The Bulldogs continued their dominant play in the bottom four singles spots, with Wesley Fontaine (So., Biloxi/Biloxi), Clay Fudge (Fr., Madison/Madison Central), Anderson Dulaney (Fr., Long Beach/Long Beach) and Jackson Ward (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) losing only eight game between them in straight-set victories.

Gulf Coast is off for Spring Break next week. The Bulldogs get back on the court March 23 when Holmes.

Results

Team: Gulf Coast 7, East Central 2

Doubles

No. 1: Chris Lawrance-Isaac Santitto (EC) def. Seth Macute-Wesley Fontaine, 8-1

No. 2: Pedro Molero-Clay Fudge (GC) def. Ian Gordan-Garrett Crimm, 8-1

No. 3: Anderson Dulaney-Jackson Ward (GC0 def. Chris Albert-Steed Springfield, 8-4

Singles

No. 1: Macute (GC) def. Lawrance, 6-4, 7-5

No. 2: Santitto (EC) def. Molero, 6-0, 6-1

No. 3: Fontaine (GC) def. Albert, 6-1, 6-2

No. 4: Fudge (GC) def. Gordon, 6-0, 6-1

No. 5: Dulaney (GC) def. Springfield, 6-1, 6-1

No. 6: Ward (GC) def. Crimm, 6-2, 6-0

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