No. 15 Bulldogs advance to finals in nail-biter
Photo by Shawn Wansley/JCJCBobcats.com
This release has been updated to reflect Gulf Coast will play Jones for the region championship on Saturday.
No. 15 Mississippi Gulf Coast won the final two matches on the court Friday to win the first men's semifinal in the NJCAA Region 23 Tennis Tournament in Ellisville.
The Bulldogs got the clinching point against No. 16 Meridian from Anderson Dulaney (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) in No. 4 singles just minutes after Kyle Bond (Fr., Wiggins/Stone) won his No. 5 singles match.
"That's probably the highest my heart rate has been as a coach so far those last few games there," said Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn.
The Bulldogs, the second seed, advanced with a 5-4 win to the championship match, where they will defend their region title against top-seeded Jones.
Dulaney lost the first set 6-4 against Meridian's William McCullough and was down early in the second set before clawing back. He took the second set 6-4, then won three of the last four points in the third-round tiebreaker to win 10-6.
"Anderson is a guy who will stay out there all day long," Blackburn said. "He wants the match to come down to him. He's one of those guys that embraces the opportunity. He's wasn't playing his best tennis today but he figured out a way to win. That's what really separates good players and great players. Today he was a great player for figuring that out."
Bond finished his match less than five minutes before. He won 6-4, 6-4, and did so in thrilling fashion. Meridian's Parker Lyons served and was up 30-0 before Bond battled back. He won the match by converting a net-cord deflection into a reflex-volley, angled winner.
"Kyle was fighting nerves and a guy who was playing at a high level," Blackburn said. "He was playing inspired tennis against him, and Kyle battled adversity. He pushed on, made shots, broke the guy down and came out with the victory in the end."
The championship match is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. There are a pair of third-place matches starting at 8 a.m. which could push the start time back.
Gulf Coast will get a little extra time to recover than the Friday afternoon winner. The Bulldogs will be able to reflect on their semifinal efforts against the third-seeded Eagles.
"It shows us that even when we aren't playing our best we can come out on top," Blackburn said. "I think it's going to relax us a little bit. Meridian was the underdog today and they played free and loose. Tomorrow, we're kind of the underdog again. I think we'll be loose and ready to play a really tough Jones team. This was the best match I've seen Meridian play this year."
Tournament website: https://jcbobcats.com/sports/2022/4/18/2022-njcaa-region-23-mens-tennis-championships.aspx
Results
Team: Gulf Coast 5, Meridian 4
Doubles
No. 1: Anton Sarunic-Sebastian Hernandez (MER) def. Pedro Molero-Clay Fudge, 8-2
No. 2: Paul Gayk-Anderson Dulaney (GC) def. Colin Hartman-William McCullough, 8-3
No. 3: Alex King-Kyle Bond (GC) def. Parker Chaney-Grant Frank, 8-6
Singles
No. 1: Sarunic (MER) def. Gayk, 6-3, 6-1
No. 2: Hernandez (MER) def. Fudge, 6-2, 7-5
No. 3: Molero (GC) def. Hartman, 6-0, 6-0
No. 4: Dulaney (GC) def. McCullough, 4-6, 6-4, 10-6
No. 5: Bond (GC) def. Parker Lyons, 6-4, 6-4
No. 6: Chaney (MER) def. Alex King, 6-1, 6-3
NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Championship
April 21-23, Ellisville
Thursday
Quarterfinals
No. 4 Copiah-Lincoln 5, No. 5 Hinds 3
No. 3 Meridian 5, No. 6 East Central 0
Friday
Semifinals
No. 2 Gulf Coast 5, No. 3 Meridian 4
No. 2 Jones 5, No. 4 Copiah-Lincoln 1
Saturday
Championship
Gulf Coast vs. Jones, 1:30 p.m.
Third-place match
Meridian vs. Co-Lin, 8 a.m.
For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
