April 14, 2019
The 杏吧视频 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 tennis teams completed their seasons in the 2019 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges State/National Junior College Athletic Association Region 23 Tournament held April 10-12 in Tupelo.
The East Central men finished in sixth in the nine-team field, while the No. 25 ranked 杏吧视频 women finished in fourth place and one spot short of qualifying for the national tournament.
鈥淚 am very proud of the players,鈥 said 杏吧视频 tennis coach Jay Pacelli. 鈥淲e played to the semifinals in six flights and, even tough we didn鈥檛 take any titles, played some great tennis and represented EC the way it should be鈥擡xcellence with Class! We fell a little short of nationals but we accomplished two winning seasons and 22 victories between the teams.
鈥淚t was a terrific year which I wish had not ended just yet. Special recognition goes out to our defending state champion Bethany Wellerman who, despite losing in the finals, finishes as one of the great competitors ever in the EC tennis program.
Wellerman, a sophomore who prepped at Newton County Academy, fell short in the No. 5 Singles finals to Copiah-Lincoln鈥檚 Ashlyn Locke, an opponent she had defeated twice in the regular season. Wellerman won the MACJC State/NJCAA Region 23 Tournament title a year ago at No. 5 Singles.
Freshman Ali Grace Walker (Newton County) advanced to the semifinals at No. 2 Singles and sophomore Alexis Tindall (Newton County Academy) advanced to the semifinals at No. 4 Singles. Sophomore Gabriela Gomez (Bogota, Colombia) and freshman Kayla Baucum (Newton County) advanced to the semifinals at No. 2 Doubles.
In the men鈥檚 draw, freshman Chris Lawrance (York, Western Australia) advanced to the semifinals at No. 1 Singles and freshman Isaac Santitto (Innisfail, Queensland, Australia) advanced to the semifinals at No. 2 Singles. Sophomore Will Ladner (Stone County) and sophomore Jake Wofford (East Webster) advanced to the semifinals at No. 3 Doubles.
