No. 15 Bulldogs win nine matches on long opening day
No. 15 Mississippi Gulf Coast got off to a great start at the NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship on Tuesday, sweeping its first six singles matches. Moritz Stroebel and Nick Dulaney advanced to the quarterfinals by winning a second match.
The Bulldogs also got one win in doubles, with Gonzalo Cotter and Ryland Buford getting two points for a first-round win. They finished the day with 15 points, surpassing their total from last year's entire tournament.
"We played really well," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "We took advantage of our good draws and singles. I think the guys all played really solid and do what they needed to do."
The event, being played in Florence, S.C., got kicked off a day late because of Monday's rain. That forced the first two rounds of singles to be played on the Tuesday.
Stroebel (Fr., Metzingen, Germany/Theodor-Heuss-Schule Reutlingen), the six-seed, led the way for the Bulldogs, winning both his matches in straight sets to advance to the No. 3 singles quarterfinals. He dropped only two games against an opponent from USC Sumter before blanking Marion Military's Bryce Manalo in the round of 16.
"He played a pretty good player from USC Sumter and really just took it to him," Blackburn said. "He just played very solid. He served great and was cracking the forehand, and he won the second round very easily. He really earned a spot in the quarterfinals, for sure."
Dulaney (Fr., Long Beach/Long Beach) also won his first two matches as an unseeded player in No. 6 singles. He beat Lake County's Vinny Marine 6-3, 6-1 before winning 6-1, 6-3 against Southwestern Illinois' AJ Mills.
"Nick had a good draw," Blackburn said. "He played his game and made a lot of balls, and he was frustrating to play against and pushed through not feeling his best."
Gonzalo Cotter (So., Valencia, Spain/IVLA), who won his first match without dropping a game, nearly upset a seeded player in the round of 16. He lost 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to sixth-seeded Alberto Perez from Eastern Florida State.
In No. 1 singles, Vicente Faria (So., Lisbon, Portugal/Escola Secundaria de Fonseca Benevides) beat Eduardo Vargas from Bevill State 6-0, 6-2. Ryland Buford (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) won his first match 6-0, 6-0 over Lake County's Pablo Galan, and Jordan Mitchell won 6-0, 6-1 over Mesa's Enrique Urquidi.
Buford and Cotter won at No. 2 doubles, picking up a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Prairie State's Yoog Gunani and Ben Lawrie. They rallied after trailing 5-1 in the first set.
"A big shoutout to Ryland Buford," Blackburn said. "He really had to step up. Gonzalo was very immobile after his singles match, locked up and cramping. He couldn't move a tone, and Ryland had to step up and take most of the court. He was the best player on the court in that match."
Faria and Stroebel nearly pulled an upset in No. 1 doubles against Cowley's Juwan Bae and Dan Hosono, but they lost 8-6 in a third-set tiebreaker.
Connor Hartfield (Fr., Hattiesburg/Oak Grove) and Mitchell haven't played yet in the No. 3 doubles bracket. They got a bye into the Round of 16 and will play Wednesday afternoon.
2025 NJCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship
Florence, S.C.
May 12-16
Tuesday
Main Draw
First Round
Singles
No. 1: Vicente Faria (GC) def. Eduardo Vargas (Bevill State), 6-0, 6-2
No. 2: Gonzalo Cotter (GC) def. Anderson Fernandes (Marion Military), 6-0, 6-0
No. 3: (6) Moritz Stroebel (GC) def. Andre Dogbefu (USC Sumter), 6-2, 6-0
No. 4: Ryland Buford (GC) def. Pablo Galan (Lake County), 6-0, 6-0
No. 5: Jordan Mitchell (GC) def. Enrique Urquidi (Mesa), 6-0, 6-1
No. 6: Nick Dulaney (GC) def. Vinny Marine (Lake County), 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1: Juwan Bae-Dan Hosono (Cowley) def. Vicente Faria-Moritz Stroebel (GC), 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6)
No. 2: Ryland Buford-Gonzalo Cotter (GC) def. Yoog Gunani-Ben Lawrie (Prairie State), 7-5, 6-4
No. 3: Connor Harfield-Jordan Mitchell (GC), bye
Round of 16
Singles Main Draw
No. 1: (3) Matia Ruiz (Jones) def. Vicente Faria (GC), 6-1, 6-1
No. 2: (6) Alberto Perez (Eastern Florida State) def. Gonzalo Cotter (GC), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
No. 3: (6) Moritz Stroebel (GC) def. Bryce Manalo (Marion Military), 6-0, 6-0
No. 4: (2) Dan Hosono (Cowley) def. Ryland Buford (GC), 6-4, 6-2
No. 5: (8) Thiofhi Tshivhase (Pratt) def. Jordan Mitchell (GC), 6-2, 6-1
No. 6: Nick Dulaney (GC) def. AJ Mills (Southwestern Illinois), 6-1, 6-3
Wednesday
Quarterfinals
Singles Main Draw
No. 3: (6) Moritz Stroebel (GC) vs. (3) Kenneth Rabinad Vila (Pratt), 9 a.m.
No. 6: Nick Dulaney (GC) vs. (1) Juwan Bae (Cowley), 10:30 a.m.
Round of 16
Doubles Main Draw
No. 2: Ryland Buford-Gonzalo Cotter (GC) vs. (4) Victor Alves-Shane Tapera (Barton), 2 p.m.
Round of 32
Doubles Consolation Draw
No. 1: Vicente Faria-Moritz Stroebel (GC) vs. Flex Howard-Bryce Manalo (Marion Military), TBD
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