ECCC Men’s, Women’s Doubles Teams Reach Finals of State/Region Tournament

The East Central Community College No. 2 men’s and women’s doubles teams both reached the finals of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges State/National Junior College Athletic Association Region 23 Tournament held recently on the campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Perkinston.

The ECCC No. 2 Men’s Doubles team of Will Stewart of Decatur and John Jimenez of Oruro, Bolivia, reached the finals before falling to the Meridian Community College team of Breno Goncalves and Callan Shinall 7-6, 6-1. Stewart, who prepped at Newton County High School, and Jimenez, who played at the Anglo American School, defeated the Mississippi Gulf Coast team of Noah Tippen and Noah Rowell 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals.

ECCC’s No. 2 Women’s Doubles team of Chaney Mills of Hickory and Andi McCrimon of

Carrollton, Ala., lost in the finals 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to the Mississippi Gulf Coast team of Katie Burrall and Jenna Lyons. Mills, who prepped at Newton County High School, and McCrimon, who played at Winston Academy in Louisville, defeated the top seeded Meridian Community College team of Taylor Miller and Rachel Sollie 6-2, 0-6, 7-6 (7-4) to reach the finals.

Overall as teams, the ECCC men and women both finished the MACJC State/NJCAA Region 23 Tournament in sixth place. The women’s team moved up two spots over last year, and the men’s team was in contention forthird place on the final day of competition.“I’m proud of the effort of our players at the tournament and throughout the season,” said East Central head coach Jay Pacelli. “The players all fought for every point and represented ECCC with excellence and class for the 2017 season. It was a memorable year.”

Pacelli said that there were seven flights in the tournament where an ECCC individual or team made the semifinals.