No. 12 Bulldogs roll into semis

ELLISVILLE — No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast opened the NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Tournament with an easy victory Thursday, but there's room for improvement for the Bulldogs.

They eased past Hinds 5-1 to set up a semifinal against No. 14 Meridian.

"I think we started a little slow, which isn't unexpected because there's some nerves you have to fight off," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "We're gonna need to start better to win a championship, but we did finish like we need to play. I'm proud of that."

Gulf Coast (12-4) got the first point of the match with an easy win by Lauren Sullivan (Fr., Laurel/Laurel Christian) and Mikenzy Dubrow (Fr., Biloxi/Biloxi) in No. 3 doubles. Angela Moreno (So., Sevilla, Spain/IES V Centenario) and Danique Vermue (Fr., 's-Heerenhoek, Netherlands/Scheldemond College) won 8-4 at No. 1 doubles.

The Bulldogs stumbled at No. 2 doubles, but Niyah Strickland (So., Pachuta/Quitman) double-bageled her No. 6 opponent for the first singles point. Sullivan dropped only one game at No. 5, setting the stage for Valeria Callejo (Fr., Madrid, Spain/I.E.S. Ortega y Gasset) to close out the match at No. 3, winning 6-0, 6-2.

"She didn't win her doubles match, and it can be easy to just accept that and have a bad day," Blackburn said. "She decided to let that pump her up, and she played great singles and was able to get the clinch."

Gulf Coast edged Meridian (16-11) by a point at Perk just two weeks ago, and the stage is set for a rematch. First serves are scheduled for 2 p.m. in Ellisville.

The winner will advance to Saturday's championship at 10 a.m., with the third-place match scheduled for 2 p.m.

"We've got to play our game and not give in to any pressure they make us feel," Blackburn said. "If we play steady and play with few errors and play Gulf Coast tennis, we should get a win."

Results

Team: Gulf Coast 5, Hinds 1

Doubles

No. 3: Lauren Sullivan-Mikenzy Dubrow (GC) def. Sydnee Teague-Lucy Warner, 8-0

No. 1: Angela Moreno-Danique Vermue (GC) def. Alara Akgul-Fabiola Guedez, 8-4

No. 2: Hanna Hoop-Macie Shelton (HIN) def. Valeria Callejo-Kendall Burn, 8-6

Singles

No. 6: Niyah Strickland (GC) def. Lucy Warner, 6-0, 6-0

No. 5: Sullivan (GC) def. Teague, 6-1, 6-0

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

NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Tournament

Ellisville

Quarterfinals

Thursday, April 11

No. 1 Jones 5, No. 8 East Central 0

No. 5 Itawamba 5, No. 4 Copiah-Lincoln 3

No. 3 Meridian 5, No. 6 Northwest Mississippi 1

No. 2 Gulf Coast 5, No. 7 Hinds 1

Semifinals

Friday, April 12

Jones winner vs. Co-Lin, 10 a.m.

Gulf Coast vs. Meridian, 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.