No. 12 Bulldogs open R23 Tournament on Thursday

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast finished the MACCC season in second place, and the Bulldogs are playing well headed into the NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Tournament in Ellisville. 

They open postseason Thursday with a match against seventh-seed Itawamba, which is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

"The double teams are all playing together really well, and they've got great energy and momentum," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "That's good, because that's how we get the match started. You want to be rolling into singles, and our depth in singles is really good. I believe we can win any match at any position right now, which is a great feeling."

The Bulldogs beat ICC 8-1 on March 17 in Fulton.

The top three teams in the tournament automatically qualify for the NJCAA Championships in Tyler, Texas, May 3-7. Other MACCC teams usually receive at-large invitations to fill out the field.

The entire field is ranked in the ITA top 25: No. 10 Jones, No. 12 Gulf Coast, No. 18 Meridian, No. 19 Northwest Mississippi, No. 20 Copiah-Lincoln, No. 21 Itawamba, No. 22 East Central and No. 23 Hinds.

If Gulf Coast wins, the winner of the match between third-seeded Meridian and sixth-seeded Copiah-Lincoln awaits Friday at 2 p.m.

"The key is starting really well," Blackburn said. "You want that lead after doubles, and then you have to maintain the momentum. Sometimes if you see a teammate playing well, you can take your foot off the gas, but we want everybody playing hard from the first ball to the last ball."

NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Championship

Ellisville

April 10-12

Quarterfinals

Thursday

No. 1 Jones vs. No. 8 East Central, 8:30 a.m.

No. 4 Northwest Mississippi vs. No. 5 Hinds, 10:30 a.m.

No. 2 Gulf Coast vs. No. 7 Itawamba, 1 p.m.

No. 3 Meridian vs. No. 6 Copiah-Lincoln, 3:30 p.m.

Semifinals

Friday

Jones/East Central winner vs. Northwest/Hinds winner, 10 a.m.

Gulf Coast/Itawamba winner vs. Meridian/Copiah-Lincoln winner, 2 p.m.

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.