Bulldogs win trip to NJCAA Tourney

Mississippi Gulf Coast will remember the 2024 NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Tournament for how the No. 13 Bulldogs were able to overcome playing three matches in less about 41 hours to clinch a trip to nationals.

The Bulldogs beat No. 21 Copiah-Lincoln 5-3 at Tatum Park in Hattiesburg to win the third-place match and lock up the final automatic berth. 

"I can't say enough about the guys' resilience and mental toughness," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "We didn't have the level (of play) we would have liked with the conditions with how the tournament played out. We weren't able to play our best tennis today, but we found a way when it seemed like there was no way for a while."

The Bulldogs played almost their entire quarterfinal match against East Central in Hattiesburg after 9 p.m. Friday night after starting it four hours earlier in Ellisville. They lost to Itawamba in the semifinals Saturday afternoon, and then had to play at 8 a.m. back in Hattiesburg to beat the threat of rain later in the afternoon.

After losing the first doubles match, Triston Hill (So., Perkinston/Stone) and Duarte Mestre (Fr., Lisbon, Portugal/Escola Secundária Sebastiao e Silva) evened up the match by winning 8-4 at No. 2. Gonzalo Cotter (Fr., Valencia, Spain/IVLA) and Vicente Faria (Fr., Lisbon, Portugal/Escola Secundária de Fonseca Benevides) won 8-6 at No. 3 to give the Bulldogs the lead heading to singles.

Co-Lin was able to tie the match up by taking the first singles point, but Hiram Havard (So., Vancleave/Vancleave) won 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5. Mestre put Gulf Coast up 4-2 with a straight sets win at No. 3.

The Wolves won No. 6, which heaped pressure on Hill and Cotter, especially after they lost their first sets.

"Triston had one of the most physically demanding days ever yesterday and had to come back and play less than 12 hours later," Blackburn said. "He looked down and out early and found a way to win a second set, which gave a lot of life to Gonzalo, who also lost the first set. He was able to play an incredible second set and a fantastic third set to clinch. Without those two guys, we wouldn't have gotten this thing done."

Cotter won his match 5-7, 7-5, 6-1.

Gulf Coast (12-7) will play in the NJCAA Tournament starting May 13 in Plano, Texas. It concludes four days later.

Results

Team: Gulf Coast 5, Copiah-Lincoln 3

Doubles

No. 3: Landon Banes-Robert Adcock (CL) def. Jeremiah Layton-Hiram Havard, 8-5

No. 2: Triston Hill-Duarte Mestre (GC) def. Simon Cooper-Francisco Miquel, 8-4

No. 1: Gonzalo Cotter-Vicente Faria (GC) def. Arne Sohmer-Valentino Millimaci, 8-6

Singles

No. 2: Sohmer (CL) def. Faria, 6-0, 6-0

No. 5: Havard (GC) def. Banes, 6-3, 6-3

No. 3: Mestre (GC) def. Mestre, 7-5, 6-1

No. 6: Adcock (CL) def. Layton, 6-3, 7-5

No. 1: Cotter (GC) def. Millimaci, 5-7, 7-5, 6-1

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