Bulldogs storm to 7 wins at NJCAAs
Mississippi Gulf Coast had a phenomenal opening day of the NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship on Monday, winning seven times.
"I'm really fired up after one of the better first days in nationals we've ever had," said Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn.
It's the most wins by a Bulldogs team since the women won seven at the 2018 event in Waco, Texas. Gulf Coast is tied for second with 14 points alongside Iowa Central, Pratt and MACCC rival Jones. USC Sumter has 16 points, but highly-ranked teams like host Tyler, Cowley, Seward and Eastern Florida State have played one or no matches because of their highly-seeded players.
The match of the day in Tyler, Texas, was played by Clay Fudge (So., Madison/Madison Central) in No. 2 singles. He won a tight first set against Jacksonville's Gabriel Torres, but lost the second. Fudge was on the brink of getting bounced to the consolation bracket down 1-5 in the third.
"I jumped on court with Clay in that third set and had to get a little fire going in him," Blackburn said. "He was getting tired, and we gave him some very simple, strategic things to do to throw his opponent off. It ended up really working, and his opponent got a little frustrated and Clay just started going and didn't look back. It was a mental battle as well as a physical."
Fudge won 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), following a 6-0, 7-5 win by Paul Gayk (Fr., Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany/Berufskolleg Lehnerstrasse) at No. 1 singles over Sauk Valley's Preston Engel. Pedro Molero (So., Maracaibo, Venezuela/U.E. Instituto Americano Joseph John Thomson) won his No. 3 singles match 6-2, 6-2 over Harford's Mathius Dessureau, and Anderson Dulaney (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) was similarly impressive against Lake County's Jack Murrie at No. 4 singles, winning 6-2, 6-1.
"We had a couple of tough ones, but we played great tennis and it was mostly one-way traffic for us," said Blackburn.
All three doubles teams won in straight sets. Fudge and Molero won at No. 1 doubles, and Gayk and Dulaney did likewise at No. 2. Kyle Bond (Fr., Wiggins/Stone) and Chace Bolan (Fr., Laurel/Northeast Jones) cruised past Lewis & Clark's Victor Belic and James Makaranga 6-1, 6-2 for their first win of the day.
"Sweeping doubles was very big, especially with Chace jumping in there with Kyle," Blackburn said. "They haven't played together this year."
The seven winners will play seeded opponents on Tuesday, looking to add to Gulf Coast's total of 14 points after Day 1. Bond and Bolan may start consolation bracket play, as well.
"One of the keys for tomorrow is for them to convince themselves they can play with these seeded guys," Blackburn said. "Not only can they play with them, they can beat them. If they really believe that, I think they can give them a run for the money and pull some upsets. They can go out there and swing, play free because there's no pressure on them."
NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship
Murphy Tennis Center, Tyler, Texas
May 16-20 (All times CT)
Monday Results
Singles
No. 1: Paul Gayk (GC) def. Preston Engel (Sauk Valley), 6-0, 7-5
No. 2: Clay Fudge (GC) def. Gabriel Torres (Jacksonville), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
No. 3: Pedro Molero (GC) def. Mathius Dessureau (Harford), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4: Anderson Dulaney (GC) def. Jack Murrie (Lake County), 6-2, 6-1
No. 5: Arthur Proud (Iowa Central) def. Kyle Bond (GC), 7-5, 6-0
No. 6: Marco Kalbermatten (Wallace State) def. Chace Bolan (GC), 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1: Clay Fudge-Pedro Molero (GC) def. Come Bulte-Mathius Dessureau (Harford), 6-0, 6-4
No. 2: Paul Gayk-Anderson Dulaney (GC) vs. Vitor Goncalves-Oleksandr Makarov (Pratt), 6-4, 6-2
No. 3: Kyle Bond-Chace Bolan (GC) vs. Victor Belic-James Makaranga (Lewis & Clark), 6-1, 6-2
Tuesday's Schedule
Championship Draw
Singles
No. 1: Paul Gayk (GC) vs. (8) Austreberto Carlon (Mesa), 8 a.m.
No. 2: Clay Fudge (GC) vs. (2) Cheng En Tsai (Abraham Baldwin), 8 a.m.
No. 3: Pedro Molero (GC) vs. (1) Kylian Savary (Seward), 9:15, a.m.
No. 4: Anderson Dulaney (GC) vs. (2) Gaston Erhardt (Cowley), 9:15 a.m.
Doubles
No. 1: Clay Fudge-Pedro Molero (GC) vs. (1) Luciano Fisicaro-Karlo Krolo (Seward), noon
No. 2: Paul Gayk-Anderson Dulaney (GC) vs. (7) Ignacio Orgaz-Saranpahon Siriwanichkul, noon
No. 3: Kyle Bond-Chace Bolan (GC) vs. (2) Mauri Gonzalez-Franco Vecchia, 1:15 p.m.
Consolation Draw
Singles
No. 5: Kyle Bond (GC) vs. TBD
No. 6: Chace Bolan (GC) vs. TBD
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