No. 18 Eagles Edge ICC in Thriller as MCC Opens Conference Play at Home
MERIDIAN, Miss. — The Meridian Community College men's and women's tennis teams opened conference play Friday afternoon at the Wanda McPhail Tennis Courts inside the Citizens National Bank Sports Complex, hosting Itawamba Community College in front of a strong home crowd.
The 23rd-ranked Lady Eagles battled the 24th-ranked Lady Indians in a tightly contested matchup but fell 6-3.
Meridian secured one of the three doubles contests as Daisi Kukuljan and Elizabeth Shirley delivered a dominant 8-1 victory. In singles competition, Kukuljan continued her strong play with a win, while Piper Collins added another point for the Lady Eagles after a hard-fought performance.
Head coach Tavis Rieger praised the effort of his women's squad.
"Daisi played a strong, controlled match starting in doubles and continuing through her singles match," Rieger said. "We also want to highlight Piper for her strong singles fight. She fought through three tie breaks to win at the end of the night."
On the men's side, the 18th-ranked Eagles delivered a thrilling 5-4 victory over the 19th-ranked Indians to open conference play with a statement win.
Meridian claimed two of three doubles matches, with Jared Escobar and Daniel Espin earning a narrow victory and Ned Simpson and Gavin Robles also securing a close doubles win to build early momentum.
In singles action, the Eagles captured three of six matches, as Escobar, Espin, and Simpson each recorded wins to clinch the 5-4 team victory.
Rieger was pleased with the composure and unity shown by his men's team.
"The men's team did a great job overall and bonded together to find a way to pull out a big conference opener," Rieger said. "It was a great day overall at the courts."
The Eagles will return to action Tuesday when they travel to Decatur, Miss., to face East Central. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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