No. 12 Bulldogs open R23 Tourney on Thursday
PERKINSTON — The postseason begins Thursday for the No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast women's tennis team when the NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Tournament starts in Ellisville.
The second-seeded Bulldogs (11-4) won four straight to end the regular season.
"We finished the regular season pretty strong, and we've been practicing well," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn. "We've practiced a lot of doubles because we know how important it is in a tournament to be up after doubles. We're moving well, and I think they're pretty fired up and excited to play. That will help us a lot."
Seven of the eight teams in the tournament are in the top 25 of the ITA rankings, including host Jones, which is 10th. Gulf Coast gets the only unranked team in the draw to open, playing seventh-seeded Hinds (7-10) in a match scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The Bulldogs beat Hinds 8-1 at Perk on March 7.
If the Bulldogs advance, they will face the winner of No. 14 Meridian vs. No. 21 Northwest Mississippi. No. 15 Itawamba, No. 16 Copiah-Lincoln and No. 25 East Central are also in the field.
"Our first-round match against Hinds is not an easy one," Blackburn said. "We had really good matches against them in the regular season. It's going to be a good first-round match, but if we keep going, there are no easy matches."
Gulf Coast would play in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Friday, and the championship is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.
NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Tournament
Ellisville
Quarterfinals
Thursday, April 11
No. 1 Jones vs. No. 8 East Central, 8:30 a.m.
No. 4 Copiah-Lincoln vs. No. 5 Itawamba, 10:30 am
No. 3 Meridian vs. No. 6 Northwest Mississippi, 1 p.m.
No. 2 Gulf Coast vs. No. 7 Hinds, 3:30 p.m.
Semifinals
Friday, April 12
Jones/East Central winner vs. Co-Lin/Itawamba winner, 10 a.m.
Gulf Coast/Hinds winner vs. Meridian/Northwest winner, 2 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, April 13
Championship, 10 am
Third-Place
Saturday, April 13
Third-Place match, 2 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.
