UPDATE: No. 14 Men’s Tennis readying for trip to nationals
UPDATE: Release updated with Monday's schedule.
PERKINSTON — No. 14 Mississippi Gulf Coast will head to NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship in McKinney, Texas, as the Region 23 champions.
The avenged a regular-season loss to No. 12 Jones that cost them the MACCC trophy, so what happens in the Dallas suburb will be a tiebreaker of sorts, even if the teams aren't likely to be pitted against each other directly.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs will have to fight that battle without their No. 2 singles player. Owen Stice (Fr., Atlanta, Ga./Laurel Springs) injured himself during preparations for the tournament, which starts Monday.
"He and Paul at 1 doubles had a decent shot to make some noise and go for a deep run," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "It's unfortunate, but that's how it goes sometimes."
Last year, the Bulldogs finished 14th, just behind Jones. That provides another piece of motivation.
Unlike the dual-match format the MACCC uses throughout the regular-season and Region 23 uses in its tournament, this tournament consists of six singles and three doubles brackets. Teams pile up points for winning matches. It's two points for the first win in the championship draw, and one in the backdraw. Beyond that, it's one point and a half-point, respectively.
Stice and Paul Gayk (So., Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany/Berufskolleg Lehnerstrasse) were the ninth-ranked doubles team in the country, giving them an outside shot at a seed and a real chance to pile up some points in the main bracket.
The Bulldogs will substitute Hiram Havard (Fr., Vancleave/Vancleave) into the No. 2 singles slot of the lineup and keep everybody else on the same court there. They'll reunite Gayk, who is the 20th-ranked singles player, and Anderson Dulaney (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) as the No. 1 doubles team, a tandem that played together last year.
"Anderson is a third-year guy," Blackburn said. "He clinched the region title playing No. 3 singles. He's going to have to step up to No. 1 doubles with his old partner, and we'll be excited to see him competing in his last tournament as a Bulldog. If the guys get hot and get a good draw, it could be something special."
In addition to Gulf Coast and Jones, No. 17 Meridian and No. 22 Northwest Mississippi will be other MACCC teams at the tournament.
Gulf Coast made a road trip to Tyler, Texas, earlier this season to play three tough opponents, giving them another taste of what's in store this time out there.
The Bulldogs won the region title on April 22, meaning it's been a while since they've faced somebody not wearing the navy and gold. Blackburn said Gayk and Anderson played four sets against each other one day during practice. Importantly, that also will help maximize fitness. Singles and doubles matches in the championship bracket go to a full three sets, so the Texas heat can be a factor.
"The guys have been competing a lot against each other just so we're staying sharp for matches," Blackburn said. "We've been conditioning pretty hard. They've been working out really hard. They're going to be fit and ready."
NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship
The Courts
McKinney, Texas
May 15-19
Monday Schedule
Championship Bracket Singles Round 1
No. 1: No. 8 Paul Gayk (Gulf Coast) vs. Seth Seely (Collin), 8 a.m.
No. 2: Hiram Havard (Gulf Coast) vs. Nick Velders (Prairie State), 8 a.m.
No. 3: Anderson Dulaney (Gulf Coast) vs. Memphis Gallego (Lake County), 9:15 a.m.
No. 4: Kyle Bond (Gulf Coast) vs. Creed Clardy (Bevill State), 10:30 a.m.
No. 5: Orren Ladner (Gulf Coast) vs. Liam Barry (USC Sumter), 10:30 a.m.
No. 6: Triston Hill (Gulf Coast) vs. Justin Sowinski (Paradise Valley), 11:45 p.m.
Championship Bracket Doubles Round 1
No. 1: Paul Gayk-Anderson Dulaney (Gulf Coast) vs. Ayden Anderson-Luke Oliver (Bevill State), 12:15 p.m.
No. 2: Kyle Bond-Orren Ladner (Gulf Coast) vs. Antonin Leborne-Pablo Poleo (Harford), 1 p.m.
No. 3: Triston Hill-Hiram Havard (Gulf Coast) vs. Nick Scroppo-Sachin Vavaraja (Prairie State), 1 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.
