Bulldogs earn 7 semifinal spots at NJCAAs

Mississippi Gulf Coast picked up seven more wins on Day 3 of the NJCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship in Plano, Texas, on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are tied for third place headed into the final two days.

"It's a really great accomplishment, and we're really marking ourselves as one of the better teams in the country," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "There's a lot more work to do, still. There's a lot more points to be had to be won by us, and every day gets a little tougher, so we've gotta bring it. But to be where we are right now is great accomplishment for the guys, and they're hungry to keep it going."

Gulf Coast has 33 points, tied with MACCC rival Jones. Wallace State remains undefeated at the Collin College Tennis Facility with 36 points, two ahead of Coastal Alabama-South.

Angel Hernandez (Fr., Puebla, Mexico/UPAEP) won the first set in his No. 1 singles quarterfinals match against Coastal Alabama-South's Julien Cordeau, but dropped the second before digging himself a third-set hole.

"He was down 2-4 in the third set to a really good player," Blackburn said. "He came back and won, and he and Ryland (Buford) really played very solid tennis from start to finish against Coastal in that doubles match. I'm very proud of Angel for the way he handled himself in both those matches. That was a great day overall."

Hernandez and Buford, a sophomore from Gulfport, won 6-3, 7-4 over Coastal's David Gimenez and Alvaro Velasco.

Buford also won his No. 4 singles quarterfinals in straight sets, as did Nick Dulaney (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) at No. 5 and Warren Hudson (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) at No. 6.

Jan Bako (Fr., Ostrava, Czech Republic/Hladnov), who lost a three-setter in his No. 2 singles match, bounced back to win with Hudson at No. 2 doubles. Santiago Enriquez (Fr., Encarnacion, Paraguay/CEUCE) and Taylor Cook (Fr., Olive Branch/Lewisburg) won 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3.

The Bulldogs will get their first semifinal started Thursday at 9 a.m. The three doubles matches are scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. They have one match against Wallace State, and three each against Coastal and Jones.

Tournament Central: https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draws.aspx?id=21ecd17c-b217-42b1-b865-2d562cb882f5

NJCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship

May 11-15, 2026

Collin College Tennis Facility

Plano, Texas

All Times Central

Wednesday, May 13

Results

Singles Quarterfinals

No. 1: (4) Angel Hernandez (GC) def. (5) Julien Cordeau (Coastal Alabama-South), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

No. 2: (6) Jared Escobar (Meridian) def. (3) Jan Bako (GC), 6-3, 0-6, 6-3

No. 4: (4) Ryland Buford (GC) def. (5) Holden Cooke (Northwest Mississippi), 6-0, 6-3

No. 5: (4) Nick Dulaney (GC) def. (5) Jordan Mitchell (Northwest Mississippi), 6-2, 6-4

No. 6: (3) Warren Hudson (GC) def. (6) Vicente Rojas (Jacksonville), 6-2, 6-3

Doubles Quarterfinals

No. 1: (5) Angel Hernandez-Ryland Buford (GC) def. (4) David Gimenez-Alvaro Velasco (Coastal Alabama-South), 6-3, 7-5

No. 2: (1) Jan Bako-Warren Hudson (GC) def. (8) Santiago Brarda-Alejandro Idarraga (Jacksonville), 6-3, retired

No. 3: (3) Santiago Enriquez-Taylor Cook (GC) def. (6) Marko Brkovic-Tendai Chihowa (Prairie State), 7-5, 6-1

Thursday, May 14

Schedule

Singles Semifinals

No. 1: (4) Angel Hernandez (GC) vs. (1) Juan Pereyra (Jones), 9 a.m.

No. 4: (4) Ryland Buford (GC) vs. (1) Alvaro Velasco (Coastal Alabama-South), 9:30 a.m.

No. 5: (4) Nick Dulaney (GC) vs. (1) Luka Uzelac (Wallace State), 9:30 a.m.

No. 6: (3) Warren Hudson (GC) vs. (2) Maximo Yanex (Coastal Alabama-South), 9:30 a.m.

Doubles Semifinals

No. 1: (5) Angel Hernandez-Ryland Buford (GC) vs. (1) Tom Garrett-Juan Pereyra (Jones), 1:30 p.m.

No. 2: (1) Jan Bako-Warren Hudson (GC) vs. (4) Felipe Morales-Reese Touchet (Jones), 1:30 p.m.

No. 3: (3) Santiago Enriquez-Taylor Cook (GC) vs. (2) Julien Cordeau-Maximo Yanex (Coastal Alabama-South), 1:30 p.m.

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