PLANO, TEX. – Northwest Mississippi Community College Head Coach Ryan Mounce called day 2 at the NJCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championship "moving day," emphasizing the opportunity to gain valuable team points in each of the nine matches scheduled.  By the end of the day, the Rangers had successfully advanced through five of the nine main draw brackets and still have hopes of gaining additional points in the consolation brackets of three other flights.

The day started a little shaky for the Rangers as they faced seeded players in each of the first three singles flights. 

Carlos Diaz faced Ari Andreopoulos, the #6 seed in flight 1 singles, in his first match of the tournament.  Charlie, as Diaz is affectionately known by his teammates, struggled initially and dropped the first set 6-2.  The second set was a much better indicator of his competitiveness.  Diaz tied the set at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, and 4-4, before dropping the final two games to Andreopoulos.  Diaz will now wait for his pairing in the consolation bracket.

Luca Morris, who gained the Rangers' first points of the tournament with his flight 2 win over Lucius Davis on day 1, fell to top-seeded David Gimenez of Coastal Alabama-South, 6-1 and 6-2.  Morris will now set his sights on doubles competition alongside Diaz in flight 1.  

Miguel Lazaga Robayna was also unable to advance in flight 3, falling to #7 Aryan Kankarwal in straight sets.  Like Diaz, Lazaga Robayna will continue on day 3 in the consolation bracket.

The fortunes turned for the Rangers in flights 3-6, however. 

Holden Cooke breezed by his opponent, Gavin Saulnier, in straight sets to advance in the flight 4 main draw, 6-2 and 6-1. "Coming into the match, I felt a slight bit of pressure...it's a big stage.  I played clean, felt like I couldn't really miss a serve, and I was playing some good tennis," stated Cooke after the victory.

Brady Holliman also played some good tennis in the flight 6 draw for the Rangers.  Holliman did not give up a game to Christian Ciron of Mercer County, winning each set handily at 6-0.

Jordan Mitchell provided the singles match of the day for Northwest in flight 5.  He and his opponent, Chris Donkor, battled to 6-all in the first set before Mitchell was able to pull away, 8-6, in a tiebreak.  Donkor, from the College of Lake County, refused to be put away until the tiebreak was knotted at 6.  "He (Donkor) came out serving big...and he just started raising his level," Mitchell said. 

Mitchell was finally able to gain enough momentum to pull away and win the set. When asked to reflect on what it took to win, Mitchell said "He had a good serve, and the tie breaker, I mean, I knew I had to raise my level. I knew I had to break and hold serve, and I came in pretty hard."

The second set was not nearly as close once Mitchell figured out what was working for him.  "The second set I started pretty hard.  I felt good and about the time I knew how to break him, it's kind of cruising for me," Mitchell said.  The Ranger dominated his opponent in set 2, 6-2, and advanced to day 3 of the main draw.

In doubles action, the flight 1 combination of Diaz and Morris dropped a hard-fought match to the #7 team of Gabriel Guillot and Aryan Kankarwal of Jacksonville College.  The Rangers led early in each set, but could not hold on, eventually losing 7-5 and 6-3. The duo will continue in the consolation bracket on day 3.

Cooke and Mitchell, playing out of the #5 spot in flight 2, started fast and never looked back against their opponents from Rowan College.  The pair won nine games in a row before dropping one, but quickly rebounded to finish up their opponents, 6-0 and 6-1.

The two were equally complimentary of each other after the match.  "He (Mitchell) has the best hands on the team, and every time he gets the ball at the net it's gone-the point's over immediately," Cooke said. Mitchell responded in turn "I wouldn't be able to volley without a big serve.  He (Cooke) has a pretty big serve that's probably one of the fastest in the conference, so it makes my job a lot easier at the net."

The flight 3 match was the Rangers' match of the tournament so far.  The long and hot Texas day gave way to a cool night by the time the duo of Holliman and Lazaga Robayna took the court shortly after 9:00 P. M. The pair faced off against Kevin Luo and Ben Wu of Oxford College of Emory and fought hard to win the first set, 6-4. 

The Rangers led most of the second set, before showing some signs of fatigue from the long day.  Luo and Wu seized momentum at 4-4 and eventually pulled away to even the match with a 6-4 set of their own. 

The final set was just as exciting through the first three games.  Holliman and Lazaga Robayna firmly seized momentum after a 3-3 tie and pulled away to take the final set 6-3 just before midnight.  When reflecting on the match just before midnight, Holliman stated "I played pretty well in the first set, but fell off a little mid-second.  Miggy really carried us through to the end of the match.  He played great tennis!"

The Rangers ended the day in 7^th place with 17 total points in their hunt for a championship. Day 3 looks to be another grueling climb with singles action beginning at noon and main draw doubles contests scheduled for 5:00 P.M. You can keep up with tournament progress here or on Ranger social media accounts.
 
Main Draw Singles (May 12)
1. #6 Ari Andreopoulos (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) def. Carlos Diaz (NWCC) 6-2, 6-4
2. #1 David Gimenez (Coastal Alabama-South) def. Luca Morris (NWCC) 6-1, 6-2
3. #7 Aryan Kankarwal (Jacksonville, Tex.) def. Miguel Lazaga Robayna (NWCC) 6-0, 6-0
4. #5 Holden Cooke (NWCC) def. Gavin Saulnier (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) 6-2, 6-1
5. #5 Jordan Mitchell (NWCC) def. Chris Donkor (Lake County, Ill.) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
6. #8 Brady Holliman (NWCC) def. Christian Ciron (Mercer County, N. J.) 6-0, 6-0

Main Draw Doubles (May 12)
1. #7 Gabriel Guillot/Aryan Kankarwal (Jacksonville, Tex.) def. Carlos Diaz/Luca Morris (NWCC) 7-5, 6-3
2. #5 Holden Cooke/Jordan Mitchell (NWCC) def. Lucius Davis/TJ Natalie 6-0, 6-1
3. #7 Brady Holliman/Miguel Lazaga Robayna (NWCC) def. Kevin Luo/Ben Wu (Emory-Oxford, Ga.) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3