ELLISVILLE - The Northwest Mississippi Community College women's tennis team (8-8) fell 5-0 to undefeated top seed Jones College (15-0) in the semifinals of the Region 23 Tournament in Ellisville at Bobcat Tennis Courts, cementing their place in the third place match at 2 p.m. tomorrow where they will play either Copiah-Lincoln Community College (11-3) or Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (10-6).
While at the Region 23 Tournament, one Ranger, sophomore Meg Daves, was given All-MACCC honors. She is only the second Ranger to be granted this honor. While playing in the #4 singles spot and #2 doubles spot, Daves has accumulated a 11-4 singles record and an 8-6 doubles record through the season.
"Meg making All-Conference is such a great accomplishment," Head Coach Ryan Mounce said. "It is a testament to all of her hard work over the last year. She deserved to be listed with all of the other talented players."
In the Region 23 semifinal match, Daves once again played #2 doubles and #4 singles. Although her doubles match with partner Ángela Ortiz-Sánchez ended in a lopsided defeat, Daves seemed to be gaining momentum in the second set of her singles match. After losing the first set, Daves was able to keep the second set close until the match was ultimately halted due to the Bobcats clinching the win.
Even though the Rangers did not see any match wins today, one can still see the evidence of improvement from the first time NWCC played Jones in February.
Although it was against a different Bobcat, Claudia Lopez Chaparro only won four games in her singles match against JC in February. However, today, Chaparro was able to force a third set after winning the second set with a strong 6-1 score.
After losing the first set by a large margin, Ortiz-Sánchez quickly garnered momentum and was leading by a score of 5-4 at the time the match was halted.
Sophomore Laura Camara Blanco played the same member of Jones' team that she played in February. In their first match, Blanco only won four games and did not win any games in the first set. In their match today, Blanco narrowly lost a hardfought first set in a heartbreaking tiebreaker.
In Brooke Kicker's first match against the Bobcats this season, Kicker only won three games. However, today, Kicker was able to show her fighting spirit and keep the first set close, forcing her opponent to win by a score of 7-5.
"I think there was drastic improvement from the first matchup with Jones. All six singles courts were competitive today," Mounce said. "While we still have a lot of work to do, it shows that we have made a lot of progress."
Tomorrow at 2 p.m. NWCC will face the loser of the #2/#3 matchup between Co-Lin and MGCCC in the third place match in Ellisville at the Bobcat Tennis Courts.
"We still have a ton to play for! We have an opportunity to clinch an automatic bid to the national tournament," Mounce said. "It is a great opportunity to show that our program belongs in the top of the conference."
To stay up to date on the NWCC women's tennis team, follow the Ranger social media accounts or go to nwccrangers.com.
Women's Doubles v. Jones (April 10)
- Heidi Clayton/Theresa Emelio (JC) def. Claudia Lopez Chaparro/Laura Cámara Blanco (NWCC) 8-0
- Maria Martinez/Camila Belen Piquin (JC) def. Ángela Ortiz-Sánchez/Meg Daves (NWCC) 8-2
- Josie Tullos/Katlin Porcello (JC) def. Brooke Kicker/Ava McCain (NWCC) 8-1
Women's Singles v. Jones (April 10)
- Camila Belen Piquin (JC) v. Ángela Ortiz-Sánchez (NWCC) 6-0, 4-5
- Heidi Clayton (JC) v. Claudia Lopez Chaparro (NWCC) 6-4, 1-6, 1-0
- Maria Martinez (JC) def. Laura Cámara Blanco (NWCC) 7-6, 6-0
- Katlin Porcello (JC) def. Meg Daves (NWCC) 6-1, 5-4
- Josie Tullos (JC) v. Brooke Kicker (NWCC) 7-5, 5-1
- Caroline Kilpatrick (JC) def. Ava McCain (NWCC) 6-3, 6-1
