Crotts, Valadez win No. 3 doubles tennis titles

Crotts, Valadez win No. 3 doubles tennis titles
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

PERKINSTON, MS – The No. 3 doubles flight championship by freshmen Michael Crotts (New Albany) and Roberto Valadez (New Albany) highlighted the ICC men's tennis team's week at the 2017 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tennis Championships held at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

The top seeded Indian duo knocked off Mississippi Gulf Coast's Brett Bowen and Reid Cudd 6-3; 6-3, to claim both the state and region championship on Saturday. They advanced to the final with a 4-6; 6-1; 7-5 win over Brandon Rogers and William Wooten of East Central Community College in the semifinals following a 6-2; 6-2 victory over Jones County Junior College's Luke Armstrong and Jacob Bozeman in the quarterfinals.

Crotts advances to the No. 6 singles flight championship before falling 6-1; 6-4 to top seeded Will Irivin of Meridian Community College. He defeated Armstrong (Jones County) 6-0; 6-4 in the quarterfinals and second seeded Graham Murphree of East Central 6-1; 7-6 to advance to Saturdays championship match.

No. 3 singles Ezra Blissard (Hosuton); No. 4 singles Chris Shands (New Albany); and No. 5 singles Valadez all advanced to their semifinals of their flights before being eliminated from tournament play.

No. 1 doubles Blissard and David Garcia-Perez (Madrid, Spain) and No. 2 doubles Shands and Brendan Jobe (Corinth) were eliminated in the quarterfinal round of their flights.

The Indians finished fourth in the tournaments and missed a trip to the NJCAA National Tournament by three points. 

Click here for the complete list of ICC men's tennis results from the tournament. 

For more information on ICC tennis, follow the Indians on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).