No. 12 Bulldogs clinch trip to NJCAAs
No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast clinched a spot in the NJCAA Championship field Friday in convincing fashion Friday, beating No. 18 Meridian in the NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Championship semifinals.
The Bulldogs won 5-1 in Ellisville, setting up a championship showdown against No. 10 Jones. It will be played Saturday at 10 a.m.
"The girls came into the match a little bit more loose and less nervous," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "They played their normal tennis, and they really showed it on the on the court today with their charisma and the way they were striking the ball was much more solid. We're getting better as the tournament goes on, and hopefully we'll finish with our best of us tomorrow."
The Bulldogs, who had beaten the Eagles 8-1 on the road in February, improved to 12-1 by getting off to a dominating start in singles. Danique Vermue (So., 's-Heerenhoek, Netherlands/Scheldemon College) and Valeria Callejo-Vivar (So., Madrid, Spain/I.E.S. Ortega y Gasset) didn't drop a game at No. 1 doubles. The Nos. 2 and 3 duos won their matches 8-4.
Isona Arnaus (Fr., Barcelona, Spain/Centre Lopez Vicuna) quickly won her No. 3 singles match 6-2, 6-2 for a 4-0 lead, and Vermue closed things out with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 1.
"Overall, it was a very good team effort," Blackburn said. "The whole team really stepped up, and we all played pretty solid. I'm so proud of everybody."
Meridian is 9-10 and will play in the third-place match Saturday at 2 p.m. Three teams from the MACCC earn automatic spots in the NJCAA Division I Women's Championship, which starts May 3 in Tyler, Texas.
Results
Team: Gulf Coast 5, Meridian 1
Matches in order of finish
Doubles
No. 1: Danique Vermue-Valeria Callejo-Vivar (GC) def. Reine Akombo-Daisi Kukuljan, 8-0
No. 2: Isona Arnaus-Lauren Sullivan (GC) def. Lilly Hollingsworth-Cheludo Monnayoo, 8-4
No. 3: Dallas Tanner-Reagan Meadows (GC) def. Cayden Alexander-Aleah McMullan, 8-4
Singles
No. 3: Arnaus (GC) def. Kukuljan, 6-2, 6-2
No. 6: Aleah McMullan (MER) def. Meadows, 6-0, 6-1
No. 1: Vermue (GC) def. Monnayoo, 6-4, 6-2
NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Championship
Ellisville
April 10-12
Quarterfinals
Thursday
No. 1 Jones 5, No. 8 East Central 0
No. 4 Northwest Mississippi 5, No. 5 Hinds 1
No. 2 Gulf Coast 5, No. 7 Itawamba 2
No. 3 Meridian vs. No. 6 Copiah-Lincoln, 3:30 p.m.
Semifinals
Friday
Jones vs. Northwest, 10 a.m.
Gulf Coast vs. Meridian, 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.
