No. 12 Bulldogs outlast No. 14 Meridian

PERKINSTON — No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast needed to grind to the final point Thursday to beat No. 14 Meridian.

The Bulldogs' Niyah Strickland (So., Pachuta/Quitman) won the final match of the day at the MGCCC Tennis Complex to lift her squad to a 5-4 victory.

"It was a tough one," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "It was a crazy situation with some matchups, and it definitely was interesting. It could have gone either way, but we came out on top."

The Bulldogs (9-4, 7-1 MACCC) rallied from a 2-1 deficit after doubles. Valeria Callejo (Madrid, Spain/I.E.S. Ortega y Gasset) and Kendall Burn (So., Wiggins/Stone) stormed to an 8-0 win at No. 2 doubles, while Lauren Sullivan (Fr., Laurel/Laurel Christian) and Mikenzy Dubrow (Fr., Biloxi/Biloxi) lost 8-5 to a No. 3 doubles team that included an international player.

Danique Vermue (Fr., 's-Heerenhoek, Netherlands/Scheldemond College) picked up a critical point at No. 2 singles, outlasting her opponent 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Callejo and Sullivan picked up easy wins, and Strickland closed out the match.

"I want to give a big shoutout to Danique," Blackburn said. "She had an incredible win at No. 2 singles against a really good player, and without that win we would have lost. And then Niyah, to finish it off with a little pressure, what she did was great. I'm proud of the team for fighting through some adversity and winning."

Gulf Coast closes out its home regular-season schedule Tuesday against Northwest Mississippi. First serves on Sophomore Day will be at 2 p.m. It will also be the final conference match, and the Bulldogs will be trying to wrap up the second seed in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.

Results

Team: Gulf Coast women 5, Meridian 4

Doubles

No. 1: Randy Rakotoarilala-Isabella Quintero (MER) def. Angela Moreno-Danique Vermue, 9-7

No. 2: Valeria Callejo-Kendall Burn (GC) def. Amelia Anding-Ruthie Storment, 8-0

No. 3: Cheludo Monnayoo-Lilly Hollingsworth (MER) def. Lauren Sullivan-Mikenzy Dubrow, 8-5

Singles

No. 1: Rakotoarilala (MER) def. Moreno, 7-5, 6-1

No. 2: Vermue (GC) def. Quintero, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

No. 3: Callejo (GC) def. Monnayoo, 6-2, 6-0

No. 4: Anding (MER) def. Burn, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6

No. 5: Sullivan (GC) def. Cali Grace Davis, 6-0, 6-1

No. 6: Niyah Strickland (GC) def. Hollingsworth, 6-3, 6-3

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