No. 15 Men’s Tennis clinches trip to nationals

HATTIESBURG — No. 15 Mississippi Gulf Coast got off to a slow start, but the Bulldogs picked it up and clinched a spot in the national tournament here at Tatum Park.

Gulf Coast swept No. 17 Meridian 5-0 in the NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Tournament semifinal. The Bulldogs' match was moved from Ellisville because of the threat of rain later in the morning and into the afternoon.

"Doubles got interesting," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "There were some momentum shifts, there were a lot of ups and downs. I'm really proud of all the guys, our No. 1's came back from down 0-4 and battled. Meridian was playing really good, and that shift of momentum really helped carry our other courts to wins."

Paul Gayk (So., Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany/Berufskolleg Lehnerstrasse) and Owen Stice (Fr., Atlanta, Ga./Laurel Springs) dug a big hole for themselves early and trailed 5-2 before winning the next five games with two breaks of serve.

Kyle Bond (So., Wiggins/Stone) and Orren Ladner (So., Perkinston/Stone) won 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, as did Anderson Dulaney (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) and Triston Hill (Fr., Perkinston/Stone) at No. 3.

Ladner and Hill quickly won their singles matches to complete the sweep.

The top three teams from this tournament advance to the NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Tournament in Plano, Texas, next month.

"It feels great to have clinched a spot in nationals," Blackburn said. "It's always good to go to the biggest tournament of the year. We're excited about it and ready to make some noise."

Gulf Coast (13-5) will play Saturday for the region championship. The Bulldogs will face No. 14 Jones (19-4), which swept Itawamba Friday. The finals will be played at 10 a.m. in Ellisville.

"We have to play our best tennis," Blackburn said. "They're a great team, but we know we can do it if we're on top of our games. We have to do it together. If only a few of us are doing well, it's not going to get the job done. We have to do it as a team."

Results

Team: Gulf Coast 5, Meridian 0

Doubles

No. 1: Paul Gayk-Owen Stice (GC) def. Sebastian Hernandez-Loic Hiss, 8-6

No. 2: Kyle Bond-Orren Ladner (GC) def. Parker Lyons-Nathan Sims, 8-3

No. 3: Anderson Dulaney-Triston Hill (GC) def. Denzel Jones-Will McCullough, 8-3

Singles

No. 1: Gayk (GC) vs. Hernandez, 6-3, 2-3 (inc.)

No. 2: Hiss (MER) vs. Stice, 6-5 (inc.)

No. 3: McCullough (MER) vs. Dulaney, 6-2, 1-1 (inc.)

No. 4: Bond (GC) vs. Lyons, 5-4 (inc.)

No. 5: Ladner (GC) def. Jones, 6-1, 6-0

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

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 5, Itawamba 0

Gulf Coast 5, Meridian 0 (Tatum Park, Hattiesburg)

Saturday, April 22

Gulf Coast vs. Jones, 10 a.m.

Itawamba vs. Meridian, 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.