Men’s Tennis heads west with eyes on bigger prize
PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast, the recently crowned Region 23 champs, will head west to Plano, Texas, on Saturday to finish preparations for the NJCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship.
This season was first since 2004 there was a Division II, and it drastically changes the landscape for the Bulldogs, who are 12th in the latest ITA Rankings. Those rankings include Division I schools, making Gulf Coast the third-highest ranked team participating at the Collin College Tennis Facility. The event starts Monday.
"Now with the D-II, and the D-I being separate, we have the ability to make a run and really compete for a national title, which is really exciting," Bulldogs coach Sam Blackburn said. "Our girls proved that this past week, so there's lot of excitement we have moving forward with this. We know really anything can happen."
There are 11 teams playing in the Division I tournament, which will be taking place there at the same time. The new Division II has 35 teams, including those dropping down as well as the Division III teams. The Gulf Coast women's tennis team finished third this week at their national championship.
The tournament concludes May 15. There are separate brackets for the six singles and three doubles competitions, with players earning team points for each match. Players who lose their opening matches drop into the consolation draw, where victories are worth a half-point.
Captain Ryland Buford (So., Gulfport/Gulfport) played in last year's national championship in Florence, S.C., and he's been sharing the knowledge he gained last year.
"I really just talked about keeping a level head," he said. "It's just like every match we've ever played. You don't really need to work up any nerves. It's just like another match. You play by yourself, but you play for your team, and your team has your back. Just contribute as well as you can, and keep a good attitude the whole tournament."
The national stage doesn't just mean a change in the level of the competition. This isn't your typical dual-match surroundings, a point emphasized by Nick Dulaney (So., Long Beach/Long Beach).
"The environment is just super," he said. "I mean, it's intense, but it's also just super energetic. It's awesome having 30-something teams out there, everybody playing at once, everybody racking up points for the team. It's just a totally different environment."
For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
