No. 12 Bulldogs finish as R23 runners-up

ELLISVILLE — No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast couldn't pull off an upset in the NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Championship here Saturday, but the Bulldogs were closer than the final score indicated.

No. 10 Jones won 5-1 to claim the title on its home course. Gulf Coast played better than the first time these teams played in the regular season.

"We were in a lot of these matches," Bulldogs coach Sam Blackburn said. Doubles was awesome. We were down 2-1 after doubles, but if you're on the scoreboard after doubles, anything can happen. We gave ourselves a chance."

Lauren Sullivan (Fr., Laurel/Laurel Christian) and Mikenzy Dubrow (Fr., Biloxi/Biloxi) got Gulf Coast on the scoreboard with an 8-6 win at No. 3 doubles.

On the singles courts, Danique Vermue (Fr., 's-Heerenhoek, Netherlands/Scheldemond College) was up a set at No. 2 and Niyah Strickland (So., Pachuta/Quitman) was in a first-set tiebreaker at No. 6.

"We were playing pretty well in singles," Blackburn said. "There were courts we would have won if we'd continued playing."

Gulf Coast had already qualified for the NJCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship. It starts May 4 in Tyler, Texas. The top three teams from the Region 23 tournament earn automatic berths.

"First seems better, but to get second with the great group of players we have is awesome," Blackburn said. "A lot of teams would like to be in the position we were in. It's an honor, and I'm really happy we qualified to play at nationals."

Results

Team: Jones 5, Gulf Coast 1

Doubles

No. 1: Molly Bennett-Helen Hernandez (JC) def. Angela Moreno-Danique Vermue, 8-5

No. 2: Guadalupe Tocci-Daniela Tovar (JC) def. Valeria Callejo-Kendall Burn, 8-3

No. 3: Lauren Sullivan-Mikenzy Dubrow (GC) def. Maggie Savell-Annalyn Housley, 8-6

Singles

No. 3: Tovar (JC) def. Callejo, 6-3, 6-1

No. 4: Bennett (JC) def. Burn, 6-1, 6-0

No. 5: Housley (JC) def. Sullivan, 6-0, 6-1

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 5, Co-Lin 0

Gulf Coast 5, Meridian 2

Championship

Saturday, April 13

Jones 5, Gulf Coast 1

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.