No. 15 Bulldogs sprint into semifinal
ELLISVILLE — No. 15 Mississippi Gulf Coast made quick work of No. 23 East Central in the quarterfinal of the NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Tournament, winning 5-0.
"That's a good way to get through the first day," Bulldogs coach Sam Thornton said. "It's definitely a good way to get started. The guys came out ready to play. We got on and off the court and did our jobs. I think it was a good way to start the tournament off on a positive, confident note."
Gulf Coast improved to 11-2 and will play the winner of Thursday's final match, third-seed Itawamba vs. sixth-seed Meridian. That match was late getting started because the second match went long and a weather delay after MGCCC's match. The Bulldogs' semifinal is scheduled for noon after being moved up to beat more potential rain.
East Central (6-9) had a pair of injuries that left them with only five players, so the Bulldogs started the day up 2-0 after defaults on the final doubles and singles courts.
Gonzalo Cotter (So., Valencia, Spain/IVLA) and Ryland Buford (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) won 8-1 at No. 2 doubles, and Vicente Faria (So., Lisbon, Portugal/Escola Secundaria de Fonseca Benevides) and Moritz Stroebel (Fr., Metzingen, Germany/Theodor-Heuss-Schule Reutlingen) powered through 8-2 at No. 1.
"It was in our minds that we didn't wanna be out here playing until midnight, so I know that was a pressing factor," Blackburn said. "I'm proud of the guys continuing to just play through it and get their jobs done. There was some pressure there on them."
Nick Dulaney (Fr., Long Beach/Long Beach) sprinted through his No. 6 singles match, winning 6-0, 6-0 and just beating a downpour that suspended play.
"We have to have the same mindset no matter who we play," Blackburn said. "We have to have the same attitude and play at the same level. If we do that, we'll be good to go."
Results
Team: Gulf Coast 5, East Central 0
Doubles
No. 3: Jordan Mitchell-Connor Hartfield (GC) def. Tate Baucum-Thomas Sumrall, def.
No. 2: Gonzalo Cotter-Ryland Buford (GC) def. Cade Cooley-Luis Alejandro Rios Hernandez, 8-1
No. 1: Vicente Faria-Moritz Stroebel (GC) def. Jeronimo Arango-Restrepo-Josh Cooper, 8-2
Singles
No. 6: Easton van Norden (GC) def. Sumrall, def.
No. 5: Nick Dulaney (GC) def. Cooley, 6-0, 6-0
NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Championship
Ellisville
April 24-26
Quarterfinals
Thursday
No. 1 Jones 5, No. 8 Northeast Mississippi 0
No. 4 Northwest Mississippi 5, No. 5 Copiah-Lincoln 3
No. 2 Gulf Coast 5, No. 7 East Central 0
No. 3 Itawamba 5, No. 6 Meridian 1
Semifinals
Friday
Jones vs. Northwest, 9 a.m.
Gulf Coast vs. Itawamba, noon
Championship
Saturday, 10 a.m.
Third-place match
Saturday, 2 p.m.
For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
