No. 13 Bulldogs get 9 wins at nationals
No. 13 Mississippi Gulf Coast picked up wins on all nine courts Sunday in their first action at the NJCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship in Sumter, S.C.
The Bulldogs have 26 points at the Palmetto Tennis Center, tied for second with Copiah-Lincoln, one point behind Jones.
"Everybody was really ready to play," Gulf Coast coach Sam Blackburn said. "They played really, really good. We took advantage of the good draws, and pulled out some really good wins along the way, too. Everybody was in a good mood, and everybody played free and loose today. That really paid off."
Andee Rogers (So., Wiggins/Stone) played a part in Gulf Coast's two upsets. She knocked off fourth-seeded Kynley Williams from Beville State in three sets, 0-6, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 5 singles. Teaming with Meredith Matthews (So., Wiggins/Stone) at No. 3 doubles, they dominated sixth-seeded Aliana Kelsey and Josie Shinkle from Mesa, winning 6-0, 6-1.
"That was massive for her to step up," Blackburn said. "She's been playing 6, and she moved up to No. 5. To play the four-seed and to get a win like that was just monumental for the team, but also for her moving forward now in the tournament. It shows she can really take on anybody in the draw. It was a very impressive win, and then her and Meredith team up together for the first time in a while and having a dominant win was a great way to back up that singles match. I'm very proud of both of them for the way they performed today."
The rest of the singles lineup swept through their matches without dropping a game. Sixth-seeded Isona Arnaus (So., Barcelona, Spain/Centre Lopez Vicuna) beat a South Arkansas opponent at No. 1, and fifth-seeded Pia Pugliese (Fr., San Juan, Argentina/Colegio Central Universitario Mariano Moreno) won against a Sauk Valley foe.
Victoria Ros Fabuel (Fr., Valencia, Spain/Colegio Sagrado Corazon Hermanos Maristas) is the second seed at No. 3, and she won big against a player from Bevill State, and fifth-seeded Paige Baronich (Fr., St. Martin/St. Martin) double-bageled an Illinois Valley opponent. Matthews, the eighth-seed at No. 6 singles, ran through her Sauk Valley foe.
Arnaus and Ros Fabuel won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles, and fourth-seeded Pugliese and Baronich didn't drop a game at No. 2.
"There's a lot of winnable matches tomorrow," Blackburn said. "That means that there's a lot of room to continue going. One of the things we said in our meeting after our last match was that this was an amazing start, but we've got a lot of work to do still, because we really can make runs in any of these draws. I'm expecting to continue playing good tennis, and to keep getting better as time goes on."
Keep up with the schedule and matches at https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draws.aspx?id=d4a476e6-7dcc-444a-8210-584be62743cb.
NJCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship
May 2-6, 2-26
Palmetto Tennis Center
Sumter, S.C.
Saturday, May 2
All Times Central
Sunday, May 3
Singles
Championship Draw Round of 16
No. 1: (6) Isona Arnaus (GC) def. Taylor Darden (South Arkansas), 6-0, 6-0
No. 2: (5) Pia Pugliese (GC) def. Addison Arjes (Sauk Valley), 6-0, 6-0
No. 3: (2) Victoria Ros Fabuel (GC) def. Ella Thrasher (Bevill State), 6-0, 6-0
No. 4: (5) Paige Baronich (GC) def. Isabella Pecchio (Illinois Valley), 6-0, 6-0
No: 5: Andee Rogers (GC) def. (4) Kynley Williams (Bevill State), 0-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 6: (8) Meredith Matthews (GC) def. Laurel Chavera (Sauk Valley), 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
Round of 32
No. 1: Isona Arnaus-Victoria Ros Fabuel (GC) vs. Addison Arjes-Grace Ferguson (Sauk Valley), 6-0, 6-1
Round of 16
No. 1: (4) Georgina Labusch-Ruri Takeuchi (Copiah-Lincoln) def. Isona Arnaus-Victoria Ros Fabuel (GC), 6-3, 6-3
No. 2: (4) Pia Pugliese-Paige Baronich (GC) def. Allyson Green-Annabelle Williams (Glouster), 6-0, 6-0
No. 3: Meredith Matthews-Andee Rogers (GC) def. (6) Aliana Kelsey-Josie Shinkle (Mesa), 6-0, 6-1
Monday, May 4
Schedule
Singles
Championship Draw Quarterfinals
No. 1: (6) Isona Arnaus (GC) vs. (3) Madison Standifer (Wallace State), 8 a.m.
No. 2: (5) Pia Pugliese (GC) vs. (4) Domenica Gruezo (Copiah-Lincoln), 8 a.m.
No. 3: (2) Victoria Ros Fabuel (GC) vs. (7) Laura Camara Blanco (Northwest Mississippi), 8 a.m.
No. 4: (5) Paige Baronich (GC) vs. (4) Meg Daves (Northwest Mississippi), 8 a.m.
No: 5: Andee Rogers (GC) vs. (5) Samantha Goldberg (Oxford-Emory), 9:30 a.m.
No. 6: (8) Meredith Matthews (GC) vs. (1) Neda Kocyte (Coastal Alabama), 9:30 a.m.
Doubles
Championship Draw Quarterfinals
No. 2: (4) Pia Pugliese-Paige Baronich (GC) vs. (5) Macie Curtis-Jaqueline Vargas (Hinds), 1:30 p.m.
No. 3: Meredith Matthews-Andee Rogers (GC) vs. (3) Katlin Porcello-Josie Tullos (Jones), 1:30 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.
