ELLISVILLE, Miss. – The Indians advanced to the NJCAA Region 23 Tennis Championship match after taking down Gulf Coast, 5-3, in Friday's semifinal round.
Ben Orr clinched the match for the Indians with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win in No. 6 singles.
The Bulldogs took a 2-1 advantage after picking up the doubles point with wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 matches. Orr and Cade Teeple grab a crucial 8-1 win in No. 3 doubles.
In singles play, Knox Waterer picked up a 6-3, 6-0 win in No. 5 singles to make it a 2-2 contest. Gulf Coast picked up a win in No. 2 singles to take a 3-2 advantage.
Tasso Moreira won 6-4, 6-2 in No. 1 singles before Teeple put the Indians up, 4-3, with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win in No. 4 singles.
With both the final matches in the third set, Orr came through with the win to give the Indians the 5-3 win over the Bulldogs.
With the win, the Indians qualify for the NJCAA National Tennis Championships in Plano, Texas May 13-17.
ICC is scheduled to face host Jones College at 8 a.m. Saturday in the Region 23 Championship match. The match was moved up from the original 10 a.m. start time due to weather concerns and may still be in doubt with rain forecasted to move into the area Saturday morning. Click here for the Jones' Tournament Central site.
