Women’s Tennis was poised for big 2020 things

\PERKINSTON — The Mississippi Gulf Coast women's tennis team had but one blip on its 2020 results when the season came to an end midstream last month.

This was the week the MACJC/Region 23 Tennis Tournament was to have been played at the MGCCC Tennis Complex.

"I definitely thought we were the best team in the state and region," Gulf Coast coach Gary Bourgeois said. "That one hiccup was the result of one of our players having a cramp up 4-1, so we should have been undefeated in the spring. I felt we had the confidence and were peaking at the right time. I thought going into the championship, we had a really good chance at closing the deal."

The final ITA rankings haven't come out, but the Bulldogs were ranked No. 18 at the start of the season and did just about everything in their power to defend that spot.

Gulf Coast was strong at the top lineup, the middle and the bottom of the lineup. Krissy Georgieva (Fr., Epsom and Ewell High School/Sutton, England) was undefeated against junior college opponents, 10-1 with the only loss a three-setter against William Carey's No. 1 player.

She and fellow international Noni Charlton (Fr., Ipswich School/Ipswich, England) were 8-3 as a No. 1 doubles tandem, and Charlton was 8-3 at No. 2 doubles.

"They were very good, and they were only getting better," Bourgeois said. "They were smarter and mentally tougher. They both improved a lot, and Chrissy was a different player from losing some matches in the fall when she had trouble closing matches. You could really see her development and confidence building."

Kaylen Bond (Fr., Stone/Perkinston) hadn't lost a match to a two-year opponent at No. 4 singles, and at No. 6 Tia Topps (Fr., Grenada/Grenada) had a similar resume. Chasity Snyder (Fr., Florence/Florence) was also grinding her way through at No. 5 singles.

"They were really improving and were at the tops of their games," Bourgeois said. "If we'd gotten to the tournament, I felt we definitely had a chance to win it."

He always has high expectations for his teams, but this year's squad had a load of question marks. It was an all-new team.

 "For a team having nine freshmen, you're not really sure what you've got at the start of the season," Bourgeois said. "I thought they came on really strong confidence-wise."

The team is upset they won't get a chance to contend for titles this year, but obviously the future is bright.

"Next year, I think we're even going to be better," Bourgeois said. "We're bringing in some players who will add to the lineup. I'm really excited about next year already. I'm looking forward to getting the team back together."

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