No. 12 Bulldogs tough out R23 quarterfinals wins
ELLISVILLE — No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast didn't roar out of the blocks in its first match at the NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Championship on Thursday, but the Bulldogs persevered.
They defeated No. 21 Itawamba 5-2 in the quarterfinals, advancing to Meridian, which beat Copiah-Lincoln on Thursday night. The semifinal is scheduled for 2 p.m.
"That's how team sports go a lot of times," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "You don't always play your best, but you find a way to win. I think good teams find ways to win, and our team found a way to win when our opponents really stepped up big time today."
The Bulldogs had won the regular-season match 8-1 at Perkinston, but the postseason opener was a slog. Gulf Coast won the first two doubles courts but dropped No. 3.
Isona Arnaus (Fr., Barcelona, Spain/Centre Lopez Vicuna) and Lauren Sullivan (So., Laurel/Laurel Christian) claimed the first point at No. 2, winning 8-4. Danique Vermue (So., 's-Heerenhoek, Netherlands/Scheldemon College) and Valeria Callejo-Vivar (So., Madrid, Spain/I.E.S. Ortega y Gasset) made it 2-0 with an 8-5 win at No. 1.
Sullivan marched through her opponent at No. 4 singles, and Dallas Tanner (So., Hattiesburg/Oak Grove) closed out a tough second set to win in straight sets at No. 3.
Arnaus and ICC's Melina Vazquez fought through an epic second set, with the Gulf Coast freshman prevailing 6-3, 6-4.
"It's her first year playing this tournament," Blackburn said. "She battled some nerves sometimes, but she toughed it out. She won a really big match that could have made or broken our day
Results
Team: Gulf Coast 5, Itawamba 2
Matches in order of finish
Doubles
No. 2: Isona Arnaus-Lauren Sullivan (GC) def. Lucia Rubio-Caitlyn Ard, 8-4
No. 1: Danique Vermue-Valeria Callejo-Vivar (GC) def. Rayssa Dominguez-Presley Thomas, 8-5
No. 3: Ainsley Robison-Melina Vazquez (ICC) def. Dallas Tanner-Mikenzy Dubrow, 8-6
Singles
No. 4: Sullivan (GC) def. Ard, 6-2, 6-0
No. 5: Tanner (GC) def. Thomas, 6-1, 6-3
No. 6: Addison Joshlin (ICC) def. Karla Bethea, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3: Arnaus (GC) def. Vazquez, 6-3, 6-4
NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Championship
Ellisville
April 10-12
Quarterfinals
Thursday
No. 1 Jones 5, No. 8 East Central 0
No. 4 Northwest Mississippi 5, No. 5 Hinds 1
No. 2 Gulf Coast 5, No. 7 Itawamba 2
No. 3 Meridian 5, No. 6 Copiah-Lincoln 2
Semifinals
Friday
Jones winner vs. Northwest, 10 a.m.
Gulf Coast vs. Meridian, 2 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, 10 a.m.
Third-place match
Saturday, 2 p.m.
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