ELLISVILLE - The fourth seeded Northwest Mississippi Community College men's tennis team (9-8) outlast the third seeded Copiah-Lincoln Community College (9-7) in a nail-biting 5-4 victory in the Region 23 Third Place Match in Ellisville at Bobcat Tennis Courts, cementing their place in the NJCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship in Plano, Texas on May 11-May 15.
Before the match began, there was an energy around the NWCC huddle. The team knew they could accomplish something special. However, it would be a battle.
The Rangers' prediction of the match being a tough battle was very quickly proven right. From the minute the doubles matches started, it was obvious that no match would come easy. By the end of the opening three doubles contests, Northwest was able to take a narrow, but vital, 2-1 lead into the singles courts.
Co-Lin very quickly took the lead from Northwest after handily winning the #1 and #3 singles courts. However, sophomore Holden Cooke dominated in his singles match, only losing one game, to even the score at 3-3.
The match took another turn when Luca Morris lost the #2 singles court in an extremely close battle, putting the Rangers on the brink of elimination down 4-3.
The last two Rangers playing, Jordan Mitchell and Brady Holliman, knew that they had to win in order to lift Northwest to victory.
Mitchell played a back-and-forth three set match on the #5 singles court. After shutting out his opponent in the first set, Mitchell only won two games in the second set and ended up seeing the match evened at a set apiece. He was able to regain his composure and momentum to get out to an early lead in the third set and never look back.
With the overall match score tied at 4-4, the deciding match was Holliman's #6 singles.
"We kind of had predicted that it was going to come down to five and six singles," Holliman said. "Then, when I saw that Jordan had won his match at five, I knew that I had to come through."
Although Holliman was able to win in straight sets, the sets were very closely contested. Holliman's serve and overhead shot were his two go-two swings to power him to victory.
By winning the third place match in the Region 23 Tournament, Northwest punched its ticket to NJCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship in Plano, Texas on May 11-May 15, an accomplishment especially sweet for the sophomores on the team.
"They're the heart and soul of the program," Head Coach Ryan Mounce said. "They laid the groundwork for what's to come, and they've earned it. They show up. They work so hard every day. It's just so awesome for them to get this reward to kind of see the fruits of their labor."
The team awaits the official draw to find out opponents and official match times.
To stay up to date on the NWCC men's tennis team, follow the Ranger social media accounts or go to nwccrangers.com.
Men's Doubles v. Co-Lin (April 19)
- Jake Bucek/Nikoloz Gurgenidze (Co-Lin) def. Carlos Diaz/Luca Morris (NWCC) 8-0
- Holden Cooke/Jordan Mitchell (NWCC) def. Nicholas Tozer/Jax Leggett (Co-Lin) 8-3
- Brady Holliman/Miguel Lazaga Rabayna (NWCC) def. Mason Brand/Lane Breland (Co-Lin) 8-4
Men's Singles v. Co-Lin (April 19)
- Nikoloz Gurgenidze (Co-Lin) def. Carlos Diaz (NWCC) 6-1, 6-0
- Nicholas Tozer (Co-Lin) def. Luca Morris (NWCC) 6-3, 6-3
- Jake Bucek (Co-Lin) def. Miguel Lazaga Robayna (NWCC) 6-0, 6-0
- Holden Cooke (NWCC) def. James Rooks (Co-Lin) 6-1, 6-0
- Jordan Mitchell (NWCC) def. Mason Brand (Co-Lin) 6-0, 2-6, 6-1
- Brady Holliman (NWCC) def. Jax Leggett (Co-Lin) 6-3, 6-4
