Bulldogs win twice in finals, bring home third

Mississippi Gulf Coast captured its first two finals victories in school history Friday, winning the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles championships to finish third at the NJCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship in Plano, Texas.

The third-place finish is the highest ever for the Bulldogs at the national tournament.

"Before the year started, we knew we had a team that could make a really good run," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "We knew we had a team that could win the region tournament and could win a lot of matches at nationals, and sure enough, we checked off those boxes. The guys earned it and played really good tennis all week long. To bring back a trophy playing against the top teams in the country is a really big deal."

Jan Bako and Warren Hudson made history by winning the No. 2 doubles title at the Division II championship, and shortly thereafter, they were joined by Angel Hernandez and Ryland Buford who claimed No. 1 doubles glory.

The Bulldogs finished with 38 points, seven behind champion Wallace State and four behind runner-up Coastal Alabama-South. Gulf Coast went 2-1 against Wallace State in finals matches Friday.

Bako and Hudson, the top seeds in No. 2 doubles, rallied from an early first-set deficit to defeat the third seeds in three sets.

Bako, a freshman from Ostrava, Czech Republic, and Hudson, a freshman from Ocean Springs, come from places more than 5,000 miles apart.

"What a cool duo," Blackburn said. "Typically, the team that wins these draws, they're made up of two international kids. People see them and they have that intimidation factor. To have a kid from the state of Mississippi playing with a kid from Eastern Europe, what a cool team they were. Seeing them mesh the way they did was really special. I'll remember that duo for a long time."

Hernandez, a freshman from Puebla, Mexico, and Buford, a sophomore from Gulfport, were the fifth seeds. The duo from almost 1,000 miles apart pulled off upsets against the fourth- and first-seeds to get to the finals, then downed the third seed to win it. 

"To win the No. 1 doubles draw is a huge deal," Blackburn said. "It puts you at the top when you win that draw. They played an amazing team. They played their hearts out and went out with a bang. Wallace is a really good team, and they played hard, but that third set, we just dominated. They were the best team in this tournament, and they proved that today."

Santiago Enriquez (Fr., Encarnacion, Paraguay/CEUCE) and Taylor Cook (Fr., Olive Branch/Lewisburg) lost their No. 3 doubles final, which finished before the other two. They were seeded third and lost to the top-seeded Wallace State pair.

"They had not played many matches together. They only came together as a team really at the end of the season," Blackburn said. "For them to make a run like that to get the finals at 3 doubles is really a big deal. They played really well and gave themselves a chance to win in the first set, but it didn't happen. I'm proud of the way they finished their season."

Bako, Hudson, Hernandez and Buford earned NJCAA All-American First Team honors, while Enriquez and Cook were on the Second Team. 

Gulf Coast was making its way back to Perkinston after the award ceremony. The Bulldogs won a Region 23 Championship and finished three points ahead of MACCC rival Jones at the Collin College Tennis Facility.

It wasn't just the seven players who got on the courts in Plano that contributed. There were three other players and a manager riding on the Gulf Coast bus back to Mississippi.

"They did an outstanding job being supportive and contributing to our wins," Blackburn said. "They brought the team energy and enthusiasm. They gave encouragement and positivity to our guys throughout the year, not just today. That was incredible and very inspiring. To see a team come together like that was really special, I'm proud of every single guy because they contributed in an incredible way all week and all year."

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

Friday, May 15

Results

Doubles Finals

No. 1: (5) Angel Hernandez-Ryland Buford (GC) def. (3) Angel Gautier-Alexander Grube Andersen (Wallace State), 6-4, 6-7, 6-2

No. 2: (1) Jan Bako-Warren Hudson (GC) def. (3) Jean Badenhorst-Francois Van Wyk (Wallace State), 7-5, 5-7, 6-4

No. 3: (1) Tom Kopf-Matias Vargas (Wallace State) def. (3) Santiago Enriquez-Taylor Cook (GC), 6-4, 6-4

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.