No. 13 Bulldogs wins six opening-round matches in Texas
PERKINSTON — The No. 13 Mississippi Gulf Coast women's tennis team had its best opening day at the NJCAA Division I Championship since 2018 Saturday, winning all six singles matches in Tyler, Texas.
"You literally could not have asked for any better start to the tournament than winning all six," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "It was an amazing start."
Gulf Coast is tied for fourth with Jones and St. Petersburg.
The 2018 team won five singles and two doubles matches on the opening day of that tournament on the way to a 12th-place finish in Waco, Texas.
This year's Bulldogs squad nearly matched that and only played eight matches. The No. 3 doubles team got a bye into Sunday's second round, making that a potential three-point match. Each of Gulf Coast's wins Saturday earned the team two points.
Hayden Hensarling (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) pulled a big upset in the No. 4 singles draw. She rallied after losing the first set to be the eight-seeded Jaena Morais from Seward County. In the third set, she got up 5-1 before Morais won a couple games. Hensarling won 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
"What better way to start your sophomore national tournament than playing one of the best matches of your college career," Blackburn said. "She played hard from start to finish."
Gulf Coast's top two players won in straight sets. Tanyaradzwa Kaome (So., Harare, Zimbabwe/The Heritage School) won 6-2, 6-0 over Wallace State's Kim Coots at No. 1. Angela Moreno (Fr., Sevilla, Spain/IES V Centenario) beat Lewis & Clark's Jelizaveta Govrova 6-4, 6-1.
Kendall Burn (Fr., Wiggins/Stone) and Abigail Garman (So., Diamondhead/Hancock) had easy times at Nos. 5 and 6 singles, respectively.
Burn and Hensarling lost a tough No. 2 doubles match in three sets, and like No. 1 tandem Kaome and Moreno will play in the consolation bracket starting either Sunday or Monday.
"Hayden and Kendall played one of their best matches of the year, even though it didn't go their way. If they can keep their momentum going into the backdraw, they'll do some serious damage. I'm extremely proud of them."
The Bulldogs spent a long day in the sun on Saturday and were planning to get back to the hotel to drink lots of fluids and recover. Sunday will be another long day.
"We're going to make sure we rest up and hydrate because we were out here all day," Blackburn said. "We're going to have to get ready for some tougher challenges. The second round, you run into more seeded players and players who have already won matches."
NJCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship
Joann Medlock Murphy Tennis Center
Tyler, Texas
May 6-10
Saturday Results
Championship Bracket Singles Round 1
No. 1: Tanyaradzwa Kaome (Gulf Coast) def. Kim Coots (Wallace State), 6-2, 6-0
No. 2: Angela Moreno (Gulf Coast) def. Jelizaveta Govrova (Lewis & Clark), 6-4, 6-1
No. 3: Bayley Askin (Gulf Coast) def. Gloria Barcaro (Eastern Florida State), 6-4, 6-3
No. 4: Hayden Hensarling (Gulf Coast) def. No. 8 Jaena Morais (Seward County), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 5: Kendall Burn (Gulf Coast) def. Makenna Schaffner (Iowa Central), 6-1, 6-1
No. 6: Abigail Garman (Gulf Coast) def. Roquelle Penaflor (Sauk Valley), 6-0, 6-1
Championship Bracket Doubles Round 1
No. 1: No. 7 Larissa Correa-Viktoriia Federova (Collin) def. Tanyaradzwa Kaome-Anglea Moreno (Gulf Coast), 6-1, 6-0
No. 2: Telma Lorenzo Herreros-Marija Ristanovic (Weatherford) def. Kendall Burn-Hayden Hensarling (Gulf Coast), 7-5, 6-7, 6-4
No. 3: Baylen Askin-Abigail Garman (Gulf Coast), bye
Sunday Schedule
Championship Bracket Singles Round 2
No. 1: Tanyaradzwa Kaome (Gulf Coast) vs. Laura Coulome (Eastern Arizona), 8 a.m.
No. 2: Angela Moreno (Gulf Coast) vs. No. 6 Isabella Quintero (Meridian), 8 a.m.
No. 3: Bayley Askin (Gulf Coast) vs. No. 2. Tshegofatso Tsiang (Barton), 9:15 a.m.
No. 4: Hayden Hensarling (Gulf Coast) vs. No. 5 Lilia Jerry (Abraham Baldwin), 10:30 a.m.
No. 5: Kendall Burn (Gulf Coast) vs. No. 4 Camila Carrales (Seward County), 10:30 a.m.
No. 6: Abigail Garman (Gulf Coast) vs. No. 4 Ai Katsura (St. Petersburg), 10:30 a.m.
Championship Bracket Doubles Round 2
No. 3: Baylen Askin-Abigail Garman (Gulf Coast) vs. Rocio Brisa-Ai Katsura (St. Petersburg), 1 p.m.
Consolation Bracket Doubles Round 1
No. 1: Tanyaradzwa Kaome-Anglea Moreno (Gulf Coast) vs. Sofija Djunisijevic-Jelizaveta Govrova (Lewis & Clark), 3:30 p.m.
Monday's Schedule
Consolation Bracket Doubles Round 2
No. 2: Kendall Burn-Hayden Hensarling (Gulf Coast) vs. Catherine Gerl-Aubree Schultz (Moraine Valley), 3:30 p.m.
For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
