No. 11 Bulldogs flex against No. 13 Meridian

PERKINSTON — No. 11 Gulf Coast drew a tough opponent in their women's tennis regular-season opener Thursday at the MGCCC Tennis Complex, but the Bulldogs' depth helped them prevail.

Gulf Coast beat No. 13 Meridian 6-3 in a non-conference matchup against one of the other top teams in the MACCC.

The Bulldogs won Nos. 2 and 3 doubles and No. 3-6 singles to claim the victory.

"Tanya (Kaome) and Angie (Moreno) had really tough matches, but after them, all of them stepped up and played really good tennis," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "It shows our depth. No matter what day it is or who we're playing against, our depth is going to help us beat a lot of teams and help us compete against any team we play against."

Kendall Burn (Fr., Wiggins/Stone) and Hayden Hensarling (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) won their No. 2 doubles match 8-4, and Abigail Garman (So., Diamondhead/Hancock) and Bayley Askin (So., St. Martin/St. Martin) cruised 8-1 at No. 3.

Askin, Hensarling, Burn and Strickland all won their singles matches in straight sets.

Gulf Coast was scheduled to play a pair of matches in Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday, but those have either been postponed or canceled. The Bulldogs will make up the match against Coastal Alabama-South but not the exhibition against Huntingdon College.

They will open MACCC play Tuesday with a trip to Fulton to play Itawamba. First serves are set for 2 p.m.

Results

Team: Gulf Coast 6, Meridian 3

Doubles

No. 1: Ana Julissa De Mata-Isabella Quintero (MER) def. Tanyaradzwa Kaome-Angela Moreno (GC), 8-2

No. 2: Kendall Burn-Hayden Hensarling (GC) def. Macey Hill-Ruthie Storment (MER), 8-4

No. 3: Abigail Garman-Bayley Askin (GC) def. Julia Blackledge-Cali Grace Davis (MER), 8-1

Singles

No. 1: De Mata (MER) def. Kaome (GC), 6-1, 7-6

No. 2: Storment (MER) def .Moreno (GC), 6-2, 6-2

No. 3: Askin (GC) def. Kamryn Rodriguez (MER), 6-1, 6-2

No. 4: Hensarling (GC) def. Hill (MER), 6-1, 7-6

No. 5: Burn (GC) def. Storment (MER), 6-1, 6-1

No. 6: Strickland (GC) def. Davis (MER), 6-1, 7-5

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