No. 17 Bulldogs rally in quarters

PHOTO BY SHAWN WANSLEY/JCBOBCATS.COM

No. 17 Mississippi Gulf Coast rebounded from losing two of three doubles matches to win all four singles matches and beat No. 22 Itawamba in the NJCAA Region 23 quarterfinal.

"It was awesome," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "I'm amped. It was the best women's college tennis experience I've had so far. The excitement and the fight from the girls was super awesome, especially coming back from backs against the wall down 1-2 after doubles. They stepped up to the challenge and played some outstanding tennis 1 through 6."

The Bulldogs won 5-2 to improve 14-6 on the season. They play No. 16 Meridian, the MACCC runners-up, at 3:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. The winners clinch a spot in the finals Saturday and automatic qualification into the NJCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship in Tucson, Ariz.

Abigail Garman (Fr., Diamondhead/Hancock) got the first singles point when her opponent retired at No. 5. Garman was up 6-0, 1-0 at the time.

Bayley Askin (Fr., St. Martin/St. Martin) made it 3-2 Gulf Coast when she swept to a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles. She had teamed with Ashleigh Chelette (So., Vancleave/Vancleave) to claim the only doubles point at No. 3, winning 8-1.

"Bayley played lights out, start to finish," said Blackburn.

Gulf Coast was within a point of winning when Hayden Hensarling (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) won 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.

"Hayden took care of business and played amazing tennis after a disappointing doubles match," said Blackburn.

Tanyaradzwa Kaome (Fr., Harare, Zimbabwe/The Heritage School) finished things off with a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 1.

"Everybody was playing great tennis," Blackburn said. "Tanya just started out hot and won the first set 6-0. She battled back from 1-4 down to clinch the match."

Win or lose Friday, all teams in the semifinals will also be in action Saturday. The losers will meet in the third-place match for the final automatic berth in the national tournament.

"I think the girls know they can win, and they're ready for any challenge they may face," Blackburn said. "They're ready and excited, and they know the job's not over yet."

Results

Team: Gulf Coast 5, Itawamba 2

Doubles

No. 1: Martina Coghetto-Gaia del Sordo (ICC) def. Tanyaradzwa Kaome-Kasey Kent, 8-1

No. 2: Sydney Ostrander-Madelyn Angle (ICC) def. Abigail Garman-Hayden Hensarling, 8-5

No. 3: Bayley Askin-Ashleigh Chelette (GC) def. Belle Powell-Brianna Ball, 8-1

Singles

No. 1: Kaome (GC) def. Coghetto, 6-0, 6-4

No. 3: Hensarling (GC) def., Ostrander, 6-2, 6-1

No. 4: Askin (GC) def. Angle, 6-0, 6-1

No. 5: Garman (GC) def. Ball, 6-0, 1-0 (ret.)

NJCAA Region 23 Women's Tennis Championship

April 21-23, Ellisville

Thursday

Quarterfinals

No. 4 Hinds 5, No. 5 Copiah-Lincoln 4

No. 3 Gulf Coast 5, No. 6 Itawamba 2

Friday

Semifinals

No. 1 Jones vs. Hinds/Copiah-Lincoln winner, 10:30 p.m.

No. 2 Meridian vs. Gulf Coast/Itawamba winner, 3:30 p.m.

Saturday

Championship, 10:30 p.m.

Third-place match, 4:30 p.m.

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.