MERIDIAN—A young but enthusiastic Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College tennis team showed its potential and also brought home some huge victories from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional Championships Sept. 19-21.
The team was led by Lady Bulldog freshman Christa Owen, who won the Singles
Championship. On her way to the finals, the former Stone High standout took down Brittney Decamp of Hinds 6-0, 6-0 then defeated Molly Davis of Meridian 6-2, 6-2. In the semi-finals, Owen upset number one seed Leslie Frankland of Marion Military Institute 7-5, 6-1. Owen started slow in the finals but came on strong to take out Mallory Davis of Meridian 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. The victory helped Owen qualify for the ITA Small College Championships in Fort Myers, FL Oct. 10-13.
In doubles action the Gulf Coast team of Owen and sophomore Kit Chowdhary fell in the finals to the number one seeded team of Mandez/McDonough of Marion Military Institute 8-5. In the women’s consolation doubles final, Brittney Buker and Tori Rose shut out Rule/Ward of Holmes 8-0.
Gulf Coast freshman Ana Pol fell to Meridian’s Jennifer Smith 8-1 while Brittney Buker lost in the singles sem-finals to Mallory Davis.
The Gulf Coast men also had a nice showing as Travous Wilson slipped by Bulldog teammate Tyler Youngblood 8-6 in the men’s singles consolation final.
“I was very impressed with our team effort during the tournament,” said Gulf Coast tennis coach Gary Bourgeois. “I saw them mature and get use to the speed of play at this level. “Christa had an outstanding tournament and she and Kit almost pulled off the upset in doubles. I was also really proud of Brittney Buker and Tori Rose as they captured the doubles consolation championship. Brittney is coming off a back injury, and she showed tremendous heart. “The men are very young but showed flashes of what can happen next spring with lots of hard work.”
Gulf Coast also plans to compete in two more fall matches before preparing for the 2014 season.