Published: May 09, 2008 09:54 am            

MCC Lady Eagles tennis claim top 10 finish at nationals

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles tennis team capped off their 2008 season with a national top ten finish.

Head coach Wanda McPhail led her tennis team to Tucson, Ariz., for the NJCAA Women’s Tennis National Championship played at the Randolph Tennis Center on May 4-8. The Lady Eagles finished the event with 27.5 points, good enough for a tenth place finish.

Meridian, the MACJC State/Region 23 champions, posted the program's best national finish since going Division I.

35 teams from 14 different states competed in the national championship with Hillsborough Community College out of Tampa, Fla., winning the title. HCC ended the tournament with 45 points. Tyler Junior College out of Texas claimed runner-up with 44 points, while Lee College of Baytown, Texas, rounded out the top-three with 43 points.

Individually MCC’s Alycia Le Merle lost her first round singles match to Hillsborough’s Nachelle Proctor, the no. 5 seed. Le Merle won two rounds in the consolation singles before having to withdraw due to illness.

In no. 2 singles, MCC’s Kelly Sterling won her first round match over Eastern Arizona but lost her next match to Tyler’s Priscilla Villemond 6-1, 6-3. Villemond won the national championship at the two flight.

In no. 3 singles, MCC’s Ashton Hartle, the no. 6 seed, won a first round match over Johnson County’s Marie Celleti 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. In the round of 16, Hartley defeated Glendale’s Shawn Jensen 6-0, 6-1. In the quarterfinals, Hartley lost to Tyler’s Ashley Longoria 6-1, 6-2.

In no. 4 singles, MCC’s Katye Shoptaugh won her first match by defeating Elgin’s Victoria Nee 6-1, 6-2. She lost to ABAC’s Chade Scott 6-1, 6-3.

In no. 5 singles, Kayla Daughtrey won her first round match against Central Florida’s Jessica Gamgelhoff”s 6-3, 6-0 and then lost to Collin County’s Gena Sollis 6-3, 6-2. Solis won the individual national championship at no. 5.

In no. 6 singles, Jodi Webb lost her first round match to NCTC’s Danielle Cochran 6-1, 6-2. She went into the consolation bracket where after winning three matches, she lost to Seward’s Alica Larson 9-7.

In doubles play the No. 2 team of Shoptaugh and Sterling picked up three points by defeating Eastern Arizona’s Maylen and Skinner 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. They were defeated in the next round by the no. 3 seeded team of Longoria and Weir from Tyler 6-2, 6-1.

The No. 3 double’s team from MCC Moon and Webb defeated Morraine Valley’s Modrigal and Body 7-6, 6-3. They won the next round by defeating Jones County of MS 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 before falling to Tyler CC 6-0, 6-1.

The No. 1 doubles team of Alycia Le Merle and Ashton Hartley, who were seeded 9th, lost a first round doubles match to Seminole CC out of Oklahoma, but in what was perhaps the most exciting match in the consolation draw, they defeated Hillsborough’s team 9-7 and then won a match against Eastern Arizona 9-7 to win the draw.

—from school reports

        

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