Topps wins; MGCCC finishes 12th
Mississippi Gulf Coast's Tia Topps won the consolation final in No. 5 singles at the NJCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship, finishing off a team effort that saw the Bulldogs lock up what appears to be a 12th-place finish.
Gulf Coast will edge Meridian, Jones and Copiah-Lincoln for the top spot among Mississippi teams. The tournament in Mesa, Ariz., concludes Wednesday with main draw championships on three doubles and six singles courts.
"It's a good goal knowing you've got some really good teams out here, trying to be the best in the conference," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "After that first day, I thought we might have some trouble doing that, but the backdraw came around. Our girls played some really good tennis and won some matches. They handled the situation well. It's a pretty cool accomplishment for them."
Topps beat Eastern Arizona's Alissa Carter 8-4 to win a medal. She won three matches over two days to earn it and stack up more points for the Bulldogs.
"She played rock solid today," Blackburn said. "I thought her best performance came yesterday in her semifinal match, but today she played Tia Tennis, where she was making lots of balls and making her opponent make a lot of errors. She played her game and the winning took care of itself."
Gulf Coast looks like it will be the top team among six MACCC teams in the tournament. The Bulldogs won four matches in the main draw, including a three-pointer by Kaylen Bond (So., Stone/Perkinston) and Anna Stringer (So., Stone/Wiggins), then piled up points in the consolation brackets.
Krissy Georgieva (So., Epsom and Ewell High School/Sutton, England) and Kasey Kent (Fr., Ridgeland/Ridgeland) won their opening-day singles matches, as well as teaming up for a win in No. 1 doubles to get six points.
Bond and Ashley Chelette (Fr., Vancleave/Vancleave) made it all the way to Tuesday's consolation finals in Nos. 3 and 6 singles, respectively.
"Ashley and Kaylen making the backdraw finals was a big accomplishment, too," Blackburn said. "They had to play some good tennis to get there, and they fought and ground their way to the finals and came up just a little bit short. "
Gulf Coast began the long bus trip back to Perk after four exciting days of play in Mesa. The Bulldogs have a lot to be proud of.
"Man, I couldn't ask for anything more from this team," Blackburn said. "They truly left it all on the courts out here. They played their best tennis of the year, which is when you want to peak, at the end."
NJCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship
Mesa Tennis Center
Mesa, Arizona
May 1-5 (all times CT)
Tuesday Results
Backdraw
Singles
No. 3 consolation final: Sarah Cline (East Central) def. Kaylen Bond (GC), 8-5
No. 5 consolation final: Tia Topps (GC) def. Alissa Carter (Eastern Arizona), 8-4
No. 6 consolation final: Alexandra Johnson (Jones) def. Ashley Chelette (GC), 8-3
For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
