No. 14 MGCCC downs No. 17 Meridian in opener

PERKINSTON — No. 14 Mississippi Gulf Coast used strong doubles play to beat No. 17 Meridian 6-3 in the Bulldogs' opening match of the regular season on Thursday at the MGCCC Tennis Complex.

"I talk to our teams about how important doubles is and getting momentum on our side, trying to put pressure on the other team," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "We did a good job of that winning all three. Twos were tested, but they responded really well. It really put the pressure on Meridian right out of the gate."

Kyle Bond (So., Wiggins/Stone) and Triston Hill (Fr., Perkinston/Stone) didn't drop a game at No. 3 doubles, and Paul Gayk (So., Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany/Berufskolleg Lehnerstrasse) and Owen Stice (Fr., Atlanta, Ga./Laurel Springs) won 8-2 at No. 1.

Anderson Dulaney (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) and Orren Ladner (So., Perkinston/Stone) won 8-6 at No. 2.

Dulaney won a three-set thriller at No. 3 singles, and Bond clinched the team victory by cruising at No. 5. Hill closed out the afternoon with a 6-1, 6-1 win.

"Meridian showed up ready to play," Blackburn said. "They tested us and pushed us really hard. That was our first matchup where we were playing a conference team, and I think there were some nerves there. We were able to shake those and play better."

Gulf Coast was scheduled to play a pair of matches in Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday, but those have either been postponed or canceled. The Bulldogs will make up the match against Coastal Alabama-South but not the exhibition against Huntingdon College.

They will open MACCC play Tuesday with a trip to Fulton to play Itawamba. First serves are set for 2 p.m. 

Results

Team: Gulf Coast 6, Meridian 3

Doubles

No. 1: Paul Gayk-Owen Stice (GC) def. Sebastian Hernandez-Loic Hiss (MER), 8-2

No. 2: Anderson Dulaney-Orren Ladner (GC) def. Will McCullough-Parker Lyons (MER), 8-6

No. 3: Kyle Bond-Triston Hill (GC) def. Nathan Smith-Luke Mitchell (MER), 8-0

Singles

No. 1: Hernandez (MER) def. Gayk (GC), 6-4, 6-4

No. 2: Hiss (MER) def. Stice (GC), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2

No. 3: Dulaney (GC) def. McCullough (MER), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

No. 4: Lyons (MER) def. Ladner (GC), 2-6, 6-2, 6-4

No. 5: Bond (GC) def. Denzel Jones (MER), 6-0, 6-3

No. 6: Hill (GC) def. Smith (MER), 6-1, 6-1

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