Bulldogs win five courts at NJCAA Tourney

No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast won five of seven matches on the first day of the NJCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship in Tyler, Texas, led by Danique Vermue.

The freshman from 's-Heerenhoek, Netherlands, won her singles and doubles matchups Saturday to add four points to the Bulldogs' total.

"She was very energized and pumped up from start to finish in both matches. I think that was a big contributing factor in both matches," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "I was very impressed with her and proud of her."

She started the day by beating Marion Military's Jenna Beach 6-1, 6-1 in No. 2 singles. Later, she teamed with Angela Moreno (So., Sevilla, Spain/IES V Centenario) to beat Wallace State's Lilly Brown and Alexandra Luders 6-3, 6-3 in No. 1 doubles.

Dallas Tanner (Fr., Hattiesburg/Oak Grove) stepped up in competition in a big way, subbing in a No. 3 singles and grabbing a first-round win. She beat Diana Kalajdzic from Mercer County 7-5, 7-5.

"That was no easy task," Blackburn said. "For her to come out and get a win like that against a solid player at 3 singles was insane. She was down 4-1 in both sets and came back to win. I was very impressed with that."

Lauren Sullivan (Fr., Laurel/Laurel Christian) beat USC Sumter's Laura Kotala 7-5, 6-1 at No. 5 singles. Kendall Burn (So., Wiggins/Stone) and Niyah Strickland (So., Pachuta/Quitman) won 6-1, 6-0 over McHenry County's Sophia Davidson and Elle Lagerstrom at No. 2 doubles.

"Most of our matches, we started a little nervous, a little tense," Blackburn said. "That's to be expected but we really started to find our groove. We won matches we were supposed to win. Some of the matches that could have gone either way, we played well. Overall, I think we played pretty well."

The Bulldogs will be back in action Sunday for Day 2 of the tournament.

NJCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship

Joann Medlock Murphy Tennis Center

Tyler, Texas

May 4-8

Saturday Results

Championship Bracket Singles Round 1

No. 1: No. 6 Elena Martinez Pardo (Eastern Florida State) def. Angela Moreno (Gulf Coast), 6-1, 6-2

No. 2: Danique Vermue (Gulf Coast) def. Jenna Beach (Marion Military), 6-1, 6-1

No. 3: Dallas Tanner (Gulf Coast) def. Diana Kalajdzic (Mercer County), 7-5, 7-5

No. 4: Lilly Brown (Wallace State) def. Kendall Burn (Gulf Coast), 6-2, 6-2

No. 5: Lauren Sullivan (Gulf Coast) def. Laura Kotala (USC Sumter), 7-5, 6-1

No. 6: Niyah Strickland (Gulf Coast), bye

Championship Bracket Doubles Round 1

No. 1: Angela Moreno-Danique Vermue (Gulf Coast) def. Lilly Brown-Alexandra Luders (Wallace State), 6-3, 6-3

No. 2: Kendall Burn-Niyah Strickland (Gulf Coast) def. Sophia Davidson-Elle Lagerstrom (McHenry County), 6-1, 6-0

No. 3: Mikenzy Dubrow-Lauren Sullivan (Gulf Coast), bye

Sunday Schedule

Championship Bracket Singles Round 2

No. 2: Danique Vermue (Gulf Coast) vs. No. 5 Emma Sanchez (Eastern Florida State), 8 a.m.

No. 3: Dallas Tanner (Gulf Coast) vs. Alessia Ciampi (St. Petersburg), 9:15 a.m.

No. 5: Lauren Sullivan (Gulf Coast) vs. Beyza Yankilar (Tyler), 10:30 a.m.

No. 6: Niyah Strickland (Gulf Coast) vs. No. 3 Stephanie Gopar (Tyler), 10:30 a.m.

Championship Bracket Doubles Round 2

No. 1: Angela Moreno-Danique Vermue (Gulf Coast) vs. No. 4 Yerkezhan Arystanbekova-Arina Babenko (Cowley), 11:45 a.m.

No. 2: Kendall Burn-Niyah Strickland (Gulf Coast) vs. No. 7 Sanja Djurdjevic-Tsitsi Claire Mahere (Weatherford), 11:45 a.m.

No. 3: Mikenzy Dubrow-Lauren Sullivan (Gulf Coast) vs. No. 4 Isabella Carey-Kyoka Ueno (St. Petersburg), 1 p.m.

Consolation Bracket Singles Round 1

No. 1: Angela Moreno (Gulf Coast) vs. Jackeline Almada-Lopez (Mesa), 2:30 p.m.

No. 4: Kendall Burn (Gulf Coast) vs. TBD, 2:30 p.m.

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