For the third season in a row, the East Central Community College Warrior tennis team has earned an at-large bid to the NJCAA DI Men’s National Tournament. The tournament will be held at the JoAnn Medlock Murphy Tennis Center in Tyler, Texas from May 16 through May 20.
“I’m so excited for the men to be able to compete at yet another national tournament,” said ECCC head men’s tennis coach Jay Pacelli. “We are looking to have a lot of fun, play some outstanding tennis, and be successful in all of our draws.”
The Warriors will join Dominik Simunovic and Joseph Fletcher who both earned individual bids for their doubles play throughout the season as well as Simunovic’s singles play at the No. 1 line. The duo finished the year second in the MACCC with an 11-6 overall record, while Simunovic also got the nod on the singles court after finishing the year 13-5, which again is second-best in the MACCC. As a team, the Warriors closed out the 2022 season with a 13-11 record and were 9-9 in MACCC play. The season saw some big wins including tight victories over Hinds, Coastal Alabama-South, and Itawamba.
Along with solid team play throughout the 2022 season, the Warriors had a pair of players named ITA x Universal Tennis Player of the Week in the men’s JUCO division in Kaleb Parish and Orren Ladner. The honors both came in the latter half of the season to help carry some momentum into the tournament.
“We are looking, as a team, to play our best tennis when we get out there,” said Pacelli. “We look forward to representing the college on a national stage and are just excited for the trajectory for this program.”
The tournament will be flighted as players will take on opponents from their appropriate line despite being from different schools. Each match will be allotted points separately allowing for individual winners and team winners.
Matches are set to begin on Monday, May 16, and will stagger throughout the week. Fans can follow @ECCCAthletics on social media for updates.
Warriors Have Strong Showing on Day One
The East Central Community College Warriors had a great outing in the first round of the NJCAA DI National Tennis Tournament in Tyler, Texas on Monday. The Warriors picked up wins in three singles matches and one doubles match to rank third among MACCC schools in attendance.
The Warriors finished singles action in Tyler, 3-3, with wins coming in the No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 flights. Joseph Fletcher defeated Iowa Central's Andrew Kunaka 7-5, 6-3 at No. 2, while Ian Gordon grabbed a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 4 against New Mexico Military Institute's Sebastian Solo. Kaleb Parish defeated Corey Engel of Sauk Valley, 6-4, 6-4, to round out the Warriors' wins.
Luke Sanders fell to Tyler Junior College's Mikar Fisher, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 1, Orren Ladner lost to Arturo Socias Salvo of Messa Community College, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3, while Iowa Central's Theo Devals-Hamel defeated Samuel Turner, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6 singles.
Sanders, Ladner, and Turner will all continue to play in the consolation bracket in singles play.
In doubles action, Parish and Turner picked up the Warriors' only win with a 6-0, 7-6 (5) victory over Coastal Alabama's Cam'Ron Crenshaw and Channing Townshend in the No. 3 flight. Gordon and Sanders fell to Paradise Valley's Branden Telle-Marty and Franco Toscano, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 2 while Fletcher and Ladner dropped a match to New Mexico Military Institute's Raul Davalos and David Palomares at No. 1, 6-3, 6-3. The two teams will continue play in the consolation bracket.
At the end of the day, the Warriors collected eight points as a team which places the Warriors tied for 8th place in the 25-team field.
