No. 12 Bulldogs cruise to R23 semifinals

ELLISVILLE — After starting more than two hours late, No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast didn't waste any time against East Central in the NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Tournament on Thursday.

The Bulldogs won 5-0 to advance to the semifinals Friday.

"It took a little while to actually get out there, but when we did we made quick work of it," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "Doubles played great and we were strong and deep in singles, so we prevailed pretty quick. I'm really happy about the effort, and we've got more to get done tomorrow."

Gulf Coast will play No. 17 Meridian in a match that's been moved to 8 a.m. at Tatum Park in Hattieburg. The threat of rain later in the morning in the Pine Belt forced the relocation of the match.

The Bulldogs dropped just six games on its three doubles courts, including Kyle Bond (So., Wiggins/Stone) and Orren Ladner (So., Perkinston/Stone) winning 8-0.

Ladner and Hiram Havard (Fr., Vancleave/Vancleave) won their singles matches 6-0, 6-0 to finish off the match.

"I think against Meridian we need to come out strong," Blackburn said. "We've done well against them in doubles every time we've played them, so we need to repeat that tomorrow. All six singles courts need to be ready because all those courts are going to be tough. If we've got the same attitude to get a point for the team, we'll be ready."

Results

Team: Gulf Coast 5, East Central 0

Doubles

No. 1: Paul Gayk-Owen Stice (GC) def. Daan Van Miltenburg-Maximo Estrada, 8-4

No. 2: Kyle Bond-Orren Ladner (GC) def. Carson Jones-Zandar Meeks, 8-0

No. 3: Anderson Dulaney-Triston Hill (GC) def. Luke Sanders-Trey Posey, 8-2

Singles

No. 1: Gayk (GC) vs. Van Miltenburg, 7-5, inc.

No. 2: Dulaney (GC) vs. Estrada, 2-6, 2-3, inc.

No. 3: Bond (GC) vs. Sanders, 6-4, 2-2, inc.

No. 4: Orren (GC) def. Jones, 6-0, 6-0

No. 5: Hill (GC) def. Posey, 5-0, inc.

No. 6: Hiram Havard (GC) def. Meeks, 6-0, 6-0

NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Championship

April 20-22

Ellisville

Thursday, April 20

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Jones 5, No. 8 Copiah-Lincoln 0

No. 3 Meridian 5, No. 6 Hinds 4

No. 2 Gulf Coast 5, No. 7 East Central 0

No. 4 Itawamba 5, No. 5 Northwest Mississippi 1

Friday, April 21

Semifinals

Jones vs. Itawamba, 8:30 a.m.

Meridian vs. Gulf Coast, 8 a.m. (Tatum Park, Hattiesburg)

Saturday, April 22

Championship, 10 a.m.

Third-place match, 2 p.m.

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.