CLINTON, Miss. --- The 2015-16 Mississippi College athletics season was full of extraordinary moments both on and off the fields of play.
The Office of Athletic Communications, comprised of
David Nichols and
Kyle Lewis, along with a week-long Twitter poll, came together to compose a list of the "Top 10 Moments" on the court, field and track.
While there were many moments this season that had Mississippi College alumni, students and fans proud of their Choctaws and Lady Choctaws, here's the list of the absolute best.
No. 8 --- A fast start and a strong finish led the 2015-16 Mississippi College men's tennis team to a semifinal appearance in the NCCAA Tournament.
The Choctaws (16-11) opened the year with wins over Division I Jackson State and Alcorn State, and after a season-high five-match win streak that included a 5-4 win over #42 West Alabama, MC was 9-4 with a 2-0 mark in the Gulf South Conference. Senior
Taylor Griffith won the deciding match over UWA, taking the #6 singles spot in straight sets.
After dropping four of their next five matches, including losses to three nationally-ranked teams, the Choctaws needed two victories in their final three matches to clinch a spot in the NCCAA Tournament. They would sweep their final three matches, incluidng a 7-2 win over rival Delta State on April 5th.
The Choctaws would finish 6-3 in Gulf South Conference play, with their only losses coming to #4 West Florida, #8 Valdosta State and #39 North Alabama. MC finished 4th in the final standings.
Needing a win in the MidEast regional to advance to the national tournament, the Choctaws hosted Belhaven in the opening round. The teams met on March 15th with the Blazers winning 5-4, but MC was able to return the favor on April 23rd with a 5-4 victory that saw sophomore
Jose Rodrigo Gonzalez bounce back from an opening-set loss to win the deciding match at #5 singles.
After a loss at Campbellsville in the regional final, MC would travel to Mobile, Ala. as the #5 seed in the NCCAA Tournament. They would open things with pool-play victories over Cedarville (5-1) and Point (5-2) to clinch a spot in the semifinals.
The would fall to Oklahoma Baptist (5-1) in the final match of pool play, making them the #2 seed going to the semifinals. They would fall to Warner (5-2), who went on to win the national championship.
Injuries forced the Choctaws to have 11 different players see singles action, while 18 different doubles combinations saw the court in 2015-16.
Sophomore
Lucio Menezes, who joined sophomore
Marcos Rocca as NCCAA All-Americans, and freshman
Maximilian Nilges were MC's top doubles team, going 14-7 on the season, including 4-4 in Gulf South Conference play.
Rodrigo Gonzalez led MC with 15 singles wins, while Rocca had 13, followed by sophomore
Petar Damjanovic and Menezes with 12 wins apiece.
The Choctaws had just three seniors on the 2015-16 squad, but
Phillip Qu was the only final-year player to play more than six matches on the season. MC returns six sophomores and a freshman that saw significant playing time on the year.
Stay tuned on Thursday, June 16 when the number seven moment is released.
For any comments, opinions or thoughts on the list, get the conversation going on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages by searching ChoctawSports.
Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC is currently in transition to Division II and the Gulf South Conference, optimistically looking toward July when they will find out about clearing the final hurdle of transition and being full members for the 2016-17 academic year.
The athletic department sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball.
For more information on Mississippi College athletics, please contact
David Nichols at 601-925-3234 or
nichols@mc.edu.
#MC#
