MGCCC heads to Meridian for ITA Regionals
Mississippi Gulf Coast heads off the ITA Small College Regional Championship in Meridian on Wednesday. It's the top event on the fall schedule.
"This is a barometer we use to gauge not only our potential but also the potential of the other teams," Gulf Coast coach Gary Bourgeois said. "The last three years, we've been very successful."
There are four brackets at the event, singles and doubles draws for the men and women.
The Lady Bulldogs won the women's doubles in 2013, with the Bulldogs doing the same the following year. Last year, Paulina Estrada won the singles and teamed with Katie Robinson to claim the doubles title.
"It's a great platform for us to get on the national stage in the fall," Bourgeois said. "It gives us the ability to see the young players and how they handle the speed of the ball, the nerves and how they put into play the things we taught them in a short period of time."
The winners advance to the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships.
Estrada is back and teams with newcomer Katie Burrall in doubles. They will be seeded second.
"They lost to the No. 1 seed from Hinds in a tiebreaker last week, so it should be a good doubles draw. I feel Paulina has a stronger player as a partner this year, so I expect them to do well."
Last season's Bulldogs advanced to the NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Tournament in the spring. They finished 16th, winning two consolation finals.
The men's team will be breaking in a lot of new talent in Meridian. Noah Tippen, who won the state title at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles, returns. Another Noah, Noah Rowell, is a freshman expected to be a top performer in Meridian.
"We have a lot of young players," Bourgeois said. "We only have two players coming back from last year's team that had the highest finish in NJCAA rankings from the MACJC. It's going to be a big learning curve for these guys, and it's going to be something we can build on the rest of the fall season and into the spring."
For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCAthletics on Twitter and BulldogLIVE on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
