No. 15 MGCCC shooting for R23 title

PERKINSTON — No. 15 Mississippi Gulf Coast finished second in the MACCC's men's tennis standings this year, but the Bulldogs are hoping they can win a ring this week in Ellisville. 

Gulf Coast is the second seed in the NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Championship, which starts Thursday. The Bulldogs play No. 23 East Central in the quarterfinals, with their first match scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

"It's no surprise that our goal is to go in there and win the tournament this week," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "I know that we are fully capable if we play our best tennis, but we're gonna have to play our best tennis in order to do so. That's the goal, and I think we're ready for it."

Gulf Coast beat East Central 8-1 at Perkinston on April 1. The winner of Thursday's match gets the winner between third-seed Itawamba and sixth-seed Meridian, which is the last match of the first day. Friday's semifinal will start at 2 p.m., with the championship match set for 10 a.m. Saturday.

The entire field at the regional is ranked in the ITA top 25: No. 13 Jones, No. 15 Gulf Coast, No. 17 Itawamba, No. 18 Northwest Mississippi, No. 19 Copiah-Lincoln, No. 20 Meridian, No. 23 East Central, No. 25 Northeast Mississippi.

The top three teams from the tournament advance to the NJCAA Division II Championship, which starts May 12 in Florence, S.C.

"We're playing good," Blackburn said. "The guys are all playing good doubles and have good chemistry. As far as our singles game goes, I feel very confident that everybody can win at every position. That's a nice feeling. I think the guys are feeling confident and then goes well."

NJCAA Region 23 Men's Tennis Championship

Ellisville

April 24-26

Quarterfinals

Thursday

No. 1 Jones vs. No. 8 Northeast Mississippi, 8:30 a.m.

No. 4 Northwest Mississippi vs. No. 5 Copiah-Lincoln, 10:30 a.m.

No. 2 Gulf Coast vs. No. 7 East Central, 1 p.m.

No. 3 Itawamba vs. No. 6 Meridian, 3:30 p.m.

Semifinals

Friday

Jones/Northeast winner vs. Northwest/Copiah-Lincoln winner, 10 a.m.

Gulf Coast/East Central winner vs. Itawamba/Meridian 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.