By Staff
The Meridian Star
April 28, 2003
BILOXI The Meridian Community College men's tennis team finished second in the Region 23 championship tournament at the Jeff Davis campus on Sunday.
The Eagles ended the three-day event with 25 points behind the Itawamba Community College Indians, who finished with 31 points to capture the hardcourt crown.
Gulf Coast Community College finished in third place with 20; Jones County Junior College took fourth with 11; and Hinds Community College rounded out the top five with seven points.
Eagles No. 5 singles player Aaron Hall won his bracket defeating JCJC's Brooks Buffington 6-3, 6-0 in the finals.
MCC No. 2 singles player Jay Merrit finished second losing to ICC's Jorge Zabrodiec 6-0, 6-0 in the championship match.
Jordan Walters, the Eagles No. 4 singles player, lost to ICC's Dylan Talbot 6-3, 6-0 in his finals match.
MCC No. 4 singles player Daniel Rigdon fell to ICC's Zach Jones in the finals 6-2, 6-3.
GCCC's Karol Zarucki won the No. 1 singles players bracket with a 6-1, 6-1 win over ICC's Daniel Bustamante.
In doubles action, both MCC's No. 2 and No. 3 pairs fell in the championship round.
Matt McElhaney and Jordan Walters, the Eagles' No. 2 duo, lost ICC's Talbot and Ron Winter 6-3, 6-4.
MCC No. 3 team Steve Neely and Michael Seto fell to ICC's Jones and Chris Woods 6-4, 6-1 on the final day.
MCC was within striking distance of a second straight Region 23 after the first two days of the three-day tourney.
The Eagles finished the second day of the tourney two points off the lead with a 24. The Itawamba Community College Indians hold the top spot with a 26.
Gulf Coast Community College was third overall with a two-day point total of 18.
Merrit, who had a bye in the first round, defeated Copiah-Lincoln's Clay Ladd 6-2, 6-3 in second round action, and he picked up a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 win in the semifinals against his competition from East Central Community College.
Walters, who also had a bye in the opening round, defeated his Jones County Junior College foe 6-4, 6-2 in round two, and he snagged a 6-3, 6-4 win over GCC's Bubba Brown in the semifinals.
Hall, who had a bye in the first round, advanced to the finals of his bracket with a 6-1, 6-1 win over his Hinds Community College opponent in round two.
Hall picked up a 6-0, 6-2 semifinals victory over Jay Welcher.
Rigdon advanced to the last-day showdown with a 6-0, 6-2 win in the second round against his Hinds' foe, and he defeated JCJC's No. 6 in the semifinals 6-4, 6-3.
Will Wiggins, the Eagles No. 1 singles player, advanced to the semifinals before falling to Bustamante 6-4, 6-4.
Wiggins defeated ECCC's Jay Fulcher 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round, and he scored a round-two 6-3, 6-1 win over Pearl River Community College's Kevin Miller in the second round.
McElhaney, who had a bye in the opening round of the No. 3 singles' bracket, lost to Winter in the semifinals 6-2, 5-7, 6-0.
He defeated his ECCC opponent 6-0, retired in the second round.
In doubles action, MCC's Wiggin and Merritt fell to ICC's duo in the semifinals 6-1, 6-4. The Eagles pair, which had a bye in the opening round, picked up a round-two win over Pearl River 6-2, 7-4 before bowing out.
McElhaney and Walters, who also had a first round bye, picked up a 6-0, 6-0 win over Southwest Community College's tandem in the second round, and they defeated their GCCC foes 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the semifinals.
Neely and Seto picked up wins over Hinds (6-3, 6-1) and JCJC (6-4, 5-7, 6-3) in the second and semifinal rounds.