Bulldogs take aim on top spot
PERKINSTON — The Mississippi Gulf Coast men's tennis team has knocked on the door a bunch the past few years, but coach Gary Bourgeois hopes this is the year his team wins the MACJC/Region 23 titles.
"Coming off last year's 16-1 season, I felt like we were the best team in the conference having beaten the team that won it twice," he said. "I think we've got pieces in place this year that can hopefully win the championship. We had five second-place finishes the last five years, so we're close."
The season was scheduled to start last week, but that match has been postponed because of expected bad weather. No. 19 Gulf Coast will open play Friday at East Central, then Saturday at Itawamba. The first home match will be Feb. 11 against Hinds.
Bourgeois likes the two international players, Serban Bonchis (Fr., Mihai Eminescu National College/Oradea, Romania) and Seth Macute (Fr., St Joseph's Nudgee College/Brisbane, Australia).
"We've got two talented freshmen at the top of the lineup in Serban and Seth," he said. "I think both of those players can anchor the top of the lineup."
He's got Patrick Roth (So., Resurrection/Pascagoula) returning, moving up to the No. 3 singles spot. Roth was part of the state championship No. 2 doubles team and he was a runner-up at No. 4 singles. Bourgeois is counting on his leadership and experience.
Wesley Fontaine (So., Biloxi/Biloxi) won the state championship at No. 5 singles, and he, too, will move up a spot in the lineup.
There's a three-way battle going on for the fifth and six spots. Clint Verrett (So., Gulfport/Gulfport) and Reid Crow (So., Wesson/Wesson) are back, competing against newcomer Raymond Lam (Fr., Biloxi/Biloxi)
"We've got a lot of experience at the bottom, and we've got talent at the top, so I think we should do pretty well," said Bourgeois.
Gulf Coast should battle Jones, Copiah-Lincoln, East Central and Itawamba for the three spots to go to the NJCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs will have the advantage of playing the MACJC/NJCAA Region 23 Tournament at the MGCCC Tennis Complex on April 15-18.
Bourgeois has added assistant coach Sam Blackburn to his coaching staff. Blackburn returns to his alma mater, where he won MACJC All-Academic honors and won MACJC/Region 23 titles in singles and doubles as a freshman and the backdraw title at the NJCAA Division I Championship as a sophomore in 2016. He went on to play at Point University where he won ITA All-Academic honors. He's worked as a professional tennis instructor in New York.
"Sam has been a big addition to our team," Bourgeois said. "Living on campus, he's allowed us to have morning workouts. He does one-on-one work with the players, which gives us two coaches providing that. I've seen a lot of improvement with this situation that we haven't had in the past. I think that's going to translate into some big wins for us."
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