Gulf Coast surges to 9th
No. 15 Mississippi Gulf Coast is in the top 10 of the NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship after another fruitful day in Florence, S.C., on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs have two doubles teams in the main draw quarterfinals, and they are in ninth place heading into the final two days.
"We haven't been in this position since I've been here," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "It's a good feeling. We don't want to get comfortable. We wanna stay hungry and keep rising up the ranks. We can still get more points."
Gonzalo Cotter (So., Valencia, Spain/IVLA) and Ryland Buford (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) won their No. 2 doubles round of 16 match when their Barton opponents had to retire. They were up 3-6, 7-6, 3-2 on Victor Alves and Shane Tapera when one of them started cramping badly enough to end the match.
Connor Hartfield (Fr., Hattiesburg/Oak Grove) and Jordan Mitchell (Fr., Natchez/Natchez) won their No. 3 doubles match when one of their opponents from Pratt was disqualified from the tournament in their singles match.
"We competed very well at 2 doubles and found a way to win," Blackburn said. "It's not necessarily the way you want to do it, but they gave themselves a chance to win either way. And then 3 doubles, they are just hanging in and staying in the draw, helping us out overall."
In the No. 1 doubles consolation draw, Moritz Stroebel (Fr., Metzingen, Germany/Theodor-Heuss-Schule Reutlingen) and Vicente Faria (So., Lisbon, Portugal/Escola Secundaria de Fonseca Benevides) advanced after their opponents withdrew.
Stroebel and Nick Dulaney (Fr., Long Beach/Long Beach) lost their main draw singles quarterfinals, but had already picked up three points each. Stroebel, the No. 3 six-seed, lost to the three-seed, while Dulaney was unseeded and knocked out by the top seed in No. 6.
The Bulldogs have at least three opportunities Thursday to keep adding to their point total. They're hoping to reach their goal of a top-10 finish.
"I think if we can keep that mindset going, we can do that," Blackburn said. "There's more matches to win the next couple days, so I feel good, but we wanna keep climbing."
2025 NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship
Florence, S.C.
May 12-16
Wednesday
Quarterfinals
Singles Main Draw
No. 3: (3) Kenneth Rabinad Vila (Pratt) def. (6) Moritz Stroebel (GC), 6-4, 6-1
No. 6: (1) Juwan Bae (Cowley) def. Nick Dulaney (GC), 6-1 ,6-1
Round of 16
Doubles Main Draw
No. 2: Ryland Buford-Gonzalo Cotter (GC) def. (4) Victor Alves-Shane Tapera (Barton), 3-6, 7-6, 3-2 (retired)
No. 3: Connor Hartfield-Jordan Mitchell (GC) def. Sixto Gologart-Thiofhi Tshivhase (Pratt), Pratt disqualified
Round of 32
Doubles Consolation Draw
No. 1: Vicente Faria-Moritz Stroebel (GC) def. Flex Howard-Bryce Manalo (Marion Military), walkover
Thursday
Quarterfinals
Doubles Main Draw
No. 2: Ryland Buford-Gonzalo Cotter (GC) vs. (5) Alexander Edley-Zac Riley (Wallace State), 12:30 p.m.
No. 3: Connor Hartfield-Jordan Mitchell (GC) vs. (2) Daniel Maurico Marincas-Alex Morris (Tyler), 12:30 p.m.
Doubles Consolation Draw
No. 1: Vicente Faria-Moritz Stroebel (GC) vs. Evan Bernales-Dwayne Daarol (Lake County), 1:30 p.m.
For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.