MCC Golf Finishes Second In Redgate Tournament

From School Reports

The final round of the 2011 Jim Redgate Invitational Tournament was postponed due to heavy rain at Briarwood Country Club on Tuesday. The results from the opening two rounds on Monday will count as the final results of the tournament which gives Central Alabama Community College the tournament championship. Meridian Community College finished in second place to close out the tournament and ended the annual tournament 10 strokes back of the champions from Central Alabama.

Central Alabama finished with a team score of 574 and Meridian ended the tournament with a 584, followed by the University of Mobile with a 594 team score. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College ended the tournament in a tie for fourth place with the MCC B-Team with a final team score of 611. East Central Community College place fifth in the tournament with a team score of 651 and Georgia Military rounded out the field with a team score of 674.

J.M. O’Toole of Central Alabama took home medalist honors in the tournament after shooting a three under par and Alex Mahlik finished one shot back of his team mate at two under par. Easton Key of Meridian fired an even par for the tournament and concluded his tournament play three strokes back of the leader.

Meridian will return to action October 3-4 competing in the District Preview Tournament at Rockledge Country Club in Coco Beach, FL.

MCC Golf Trails After Round One Of Redgate Tournament

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team opened its home portion of its 2011 fall schedule on Monday by hosting the annual Jim Redgate Invitational Tournament at Briarwood Country Club. The Eagles will have a large hill to climb in the final round Tuesday after Central Alabama shot a team total of 574 which was 10 strokes ahead of host MCC.

“We played a decent pair of rounds today, but I really thought that we struggled after a rain delay during the opening round, said MCC head coach Clinton Hales. “We will need to play well Tuesday and keep playing consistent.”

MCC scored a team total of 584 and secured the second spot on the leader board, followed by the University of Mobile with a final score of 594 to close out day one of the tournament. Mississippi Gulf Coast concluded Monday with a team score of 611 and the Meridian Community College B-Team is tied with the Bulldogs at 611 after action on Monday. East Central Community College fired a 651 and Georgia Military wrapped up the opening day with total team score of 674.

J.M. O’Toole of Central Alabama leads the tournament after shooting a three under par and Alex Mahlik is one shot back of his team mate at two under par. Easton Key of Meridian fired an even par for the opening day and sits three strokes back of the leader going into the final round Tuesday. Jake Sterling of MCC concluded his day three strokes over par to pace the Eagles.

The final round of the Jim Redgate Invitational Tournament will begin at 8:30 Tuesday morning at Briarwood Country Club.

MCC Soccer Splits With Lon Morris

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles rebounded from a recent four-game losing streak to secure a comeback victory over Lon Morris College at C.D. Smith Field on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Eagles trailed Lon Morris 1-0 late in the second half and scored a pair of goals to take the thrilling victory over the Lady Bearcats.

“I was very proud of the way our girls battled back in the second half,” said MCC head coach Alex George. “We played with a lot of toughness and found a way to win late in the game.”

Lon Morris took the lead over the Lady Eagles with 22:38 left in the first half to make the score 1-0. Maria Mendoza scored the lone goal in the match for the Lady Bearcats on an assist by Samantha Ramirez to give Lon Morris the one-goal advantage over MCC.

Meridian (4-4) scored both of its goals in the final 20 minutes of action to fly away with the one-goal victory. Kari Zendejas scored the first goal of the match with 16:22 remaining in the match to tie the game at 1-1. The Lady Eagles scored the go-ahead goal with just 2:30 left in the match to secure the dramatic victory over Lon Morris. Chelsea Byrd scored the winning goal for MCC on a deflection near the goal and led the Lady Eagles to its fourth victory of the season.

The MCC women will return to action September 30 against Middle Georgia as a part of the 2011 Rush Invitational Tournament at C.D. Smith Field. The Lady Eagles will battle Middle Georgia at 5 p.m. in the opening day of the tournament on the campus of Meridian Community College.

Lon Morris (men) 1
MCC 0

The Eagles were looking to snap its recent four-game losing streak, but MCC lost a heartbreaker in the men’s contest to Lon Morris by a final of 1-0. MCC (1-7) played hard on both sides of the field all afternoon and walked away with several positives after the match.

“I was very proud of the way our guys battled through the whole game,” said George. “We played a great team in a close match and I believe our guys are in great shape.”

The only goal of the match was scored by Lon Morris in the first half by Kristopher Valenzuela to lead the Bearcats to the victory.

MCC will return to action against Middle Georgia in the 2011 Rush Invitational Tournament September 30 at C.D. Smith Field. The Eagles will begin its match with Middle Georgia at 7 p.m.

MCC Golf Set For Annual Redgate Tournament

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team will be looking to win back-to-back events to start the season as they play host to their annual Jim Redgate Invitational at Briarwood Country Club starting Monday and going through Tuesday.

The Eagles are coming off an impressive victory to start the season at the Wallace State Invitational in Cullman, Alabama. In their first outing, MCC shot 26 under par as a team for the 54 hole event and won the tournament by 14 shots over their district rival, Brevard Community College. In addition, three of the five Eagle golfers made the All-Tournament Team. “I was pleased with the way we played to start the year, but we’ve definitely got some areas that we need to improve and I hope to see that this week, “ said Clinton Hales, first year head coach for MCC “Hopefully, that victory will give us some confidence going into the rest of the season.”

MCC will send out Freshman Dylan Brown in the number one spot. The Queensland, Australia native finished atop for the Eagles in Cullman, shooting rounds of 69-70-70,which finished second place overall. Finishing one shot behind Brown was teammate and Meridian native, Easton Key, who fired impressive rounds of 67-66 to finish the tournament after opening with a 77. Sophomore Jake Stirling will start in the 3 spot for MCC.

His rounds of 66-71-74 were good enough for fourth place overall at the first event. Sophomore Alex Grannon and Freshman Leighton Greer will round out the Eagle’s top five.
The Eagles will be paired with in-state rival, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, as well as district rival, Central Alabama Community College. East Central CC, Georgia Military College, and the University of Mobile will round out the field for this year’s event. Play will start at 7:30am on Monday with 36 holes, followed by 18 holes on Tuesday.

Jones Sweeps Past MCC

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles and Eagles entered play Tuesday afternoon looking to bounce back from its recent slump, but MCC couldn’t find better results with a short road trip to Jones County Junior College. The Bobcats enjoyed a home sweep of MCC by earning a 2-0 victory in the women’s contest, while the MCC men moved its losing streak to four games with a tough 3-2 loss to JCJC.

Meridian will look to get back on track with another pair of matches this Saturday at C.D. Smith Field on the campus of Meridian Community College. MCC will host Lon Morris this weekend with the women’s match set for a noon start and the MCC men will tangle with Lon Morris at 2 p.m. MCC played Lon Morris earlier in the season in Jacksonville, TX with Meridian earning a split with Lon Morris. The Lady Eagles defeated Lon Morris 4-0, while the MCC lost 6-0 at the hands of Lon Morris

Jones (women) 2
MCC 0

The Lady Bobcats scored a goal in each half to secure the two-goal victory over the Lady Eagles. Brandee Kovacevich scored the first goal for JCJC with 7:00 left in the first half to give the Lady Bobcats a 1-0 lead. Jones (7-2) scored its second goal to provide some cushion to secure the 2-0 victory over MCC.

Danica Roberts scored an unassisted goal with 11:00 left in the match and Roberts also added an assist on the goal scored by Kovacevich in the first half. Meridian (3-4) is currently riding a four-game losing streak after starting the season with three straight victories.

Jones (men) 3
MCC 2

Jones scored the game winning goal in the final minutes to earn a one-goal win over MCC. Giuliano Mancini scored the goal for the Bobcats in the late stages of the match to improve JCJC to 4-3-1 for the 2011 season.

Tony Chapel scored both goals in the match for MCC and the Eagles actually had a 2-1 lead at the end of the first half on the goals by Chapel. Mason Tabb scored the lone goal in the first half for Jones and Tyler Alexander scored a goal for the Bobcats in the second half.

Chapel scored two goals in the match to push his total to six goals for the 2011 season to lead MCC. Meridian lost its fourth straight match and dropped its overall record to 1-6.

MCC Tennis To Host Tournament

From School Reports

Meridian Community College is set to host the USTA/ITA Small College Southern Men’s and Women’s JUCO Regional Championships September 29-October 1 at Northeast Tennis Center. To participate in the USTA/ITA regional tournaments teams must be a member of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

The ITA is the governing body of college tennis, overseeing men’s and women’s varsity tennis at NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges. This regional tournament is a lead-up to the National Small College Championships to be held in Mobile, Alabama, at the Mobile Tennis Center October 13-16, 2011.

Winners of the Small College Super Bowl will receive wildcards into the Division 1 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships (November 3-6, 2011 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY). Teams participating in the Southern Regional are Copiah-Lincoln CC men, Hinds, Holmes CC men, Itawamba CC, Jones County JC, Mississippi Gulf Coast and Meridian.

South Georgia Sweeps MCC

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles started the 2011 season with three straight victories, but the Lady Eagles lost its third straight match at the hands of South Georgia College by a final score of 3-1 Wednesday afternoon at C.D. Smith Field.

The Lady Tigers took an early 1-0 lead with 22:00 left to play in the first half and carried a one-goal edge in the second half of play against MCC. South Georgia added a second goal to extend its lead to 2-0 with 42:00 minutes left in the match, but the Lady Eagles trimmed the South Georgia lead to just one goal later in the second half.

Freshman Shana Kay Durant scored the lone goal for MCC on a penalty kick to cut the South Georgia lead to 2-1 with 39:00 left in the match. The Lady Eagles never got closer as South Georgia added a late goal to take a 3-1 victory and push the losing streak to three games for MCC.

MCC (3-3) will return to action September 20 as the Lady Eagles travel to Ellisville, MS to tangle with Jones County Junior College. The match is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start on the campus of JCJC.


South Georgia 7
MCC 1

The Eagles entered its match with South Georgia looking for a spark to break its recent losing skid, but MCC couldn’t find that spark on Wednesday afternoon against South Georgia. The Tigers scored in the opening six minutes of play and never looked back in the six-goal victory over the Eagles.

The lone goal for MCC came from Jesus Olivares with three minutes left in the first half of play, but the Tigers carried a 5-1 lead at the end of the half. South Georgia added a goal in the opening minutes of the second half and another insurance goal to roll away to a 7-1 win over MCC. The Eagles are currently on a three-game losing streak after the loss to South Georgia on Wednesday.

MCC (1-5) will look to rebound as the Eagles travel to Jones County Junior College to battle the Bobcats in Ellisville, MS. The match is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start in the campus of JCJC.

MCC Golf Wins 2011 Wallace State Fall Invitational

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team started off its 2011 fall season with another tournament victory as the Eagles secured the 2011 Wallace State Fall Invitational in Cullman, AL on Tuesday afternoon. The tournament victory marked the second straight win for the Eagles at the Wallace State Fall Invitational.

“I was very proud of our consistent play today,” said first year head coach Clinton Hales. “It feels great to get our fall season off to a great start and to win this tournament two straight years says a lot with all of the quality teams that we a part of this event.”

Meridian concluded its final round with a team score of 278 (10 under par) and a two-round score of 838 (-26 under par). The Eagles were led by several freshman making their collegiate debuts and a pair of returning sophomores that led MCC to an appearance in the national tournament in the spring of 2010. Freshman Dylan Brown finished in second place overall in the tournament with a two-day score of 209 and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Brown shot a final round score of 70 and ended the tournament five strokes behind William Anderson of Brevard Community College who took home medalist honors with a total two-day score of 204. Sophomore Easton Key finished the tournament in third place with total score of 210 which earned the Meridian native a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Key shot a final round of 66 on Tuesday which was the low round of the final day of action for the Eagles.

Sophomore Jake Sterling finished fourth overall in the tournament with a total score of 211 and shot a final round of 74 and was also named a member of the All-Tournament Team. Brevard Community College finished in second place behind the Eagles with a team score of 852 which was 14 strokes behind MCC. The victory on Tuesday for the Eagles also marked the first victory for first year head coach Clinton Hales.

MCC will continue its 2011 fall golf season September 26-27 as the Eagles will host the 2011 Jim Redgate Invitational at Briarwood Country Club.

MCC Golf Begins Fall Season

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team got the season off to a nice on Monday as they surged to the top of the leaderboard at the 2011 Wallace State Fall Invitational. The Eagles shot 280 (8 under par) in round one and followed up their consistent play with another 280 to finish day 1 with a 560 total (16 under par). Brevard Community College, out of Florida, trails by 2 shots heading into Tuesday’s final round.

“I’m pleased with our consistent play to start the tournament, but we can’t relax because we’ve got a great team right behind us who is playing well. We’ll have to be at our best tomorrow to win,” added Coach Clinton Hales, who is making his debut as head coach. Brevard’s William Anderson tied a Cullman Golf Course record in the second round with a 10 under par, 62. Anderson leads all golfers with a 10 under par total, 134. Meridian’s Jake Stirling is in second place individually with a strong 66-71 first day. Meridian native Easton Key fought back from a first round 77 to shoot 5 under par 67 in the second round. Dylan Brown (69-70, 139), Alex Grannon (73-72, 145), and Drew Boston (72-77, 149) also played well for MCC. MCC begins final round play from Cullman Golf Course Tuesday at 8:10 am.

MCC Soccer Suffers Tough Road Trip

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College soccer teams suffered very difficult losses over the weekend on the road at Albany, GA. The Lady Eagles dropped a pair of matches over the weekend and one the losses came at the hands of one of the top teams in the country.

MCC (3-2) lost its first match of the 2011 season on Friday to Darton College by a final score of 7-0. Darton College entered its Friday match with Meridian Community College ranked eighth in the latest NJCAA Division I soccer poll. The Lady Eagles lost its second straight match on its long road trip Saturday afternoon to Brevard College 3-0.

The Lady Eagles will look to rebound from its pair of losses with a match against South Georgia this Wednesday at C.D. Smith Field. MCC will begin its match with South Georgia at noon.

The Meridian Community College Eagles didn't have that much luck on its trip to Georgia this weekend as the men dropped both of its matches in Albany. The Eagles started the weekend with a huge loss against Darton College on Friday by a final of 10-0, but MCC rebounded with a very close match against Andrew College on Saturday.

MCC (1-5) suffered a narrow defeated to Andrew College on Saturday by a final score of 3-2. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the second half on a goal by Andrew Chapel to give MCC a one-goal edge with 35:00 left in the second half. Andrew College scored three unanswered goals in the second half, but the closest MCC added a late goal on a penalty kick by Ducky Troutman to make the final score 3-2.

The Eagles return to action this Wednesday with a match against South Georgia at C.D. Smith Field. The match is set for a 2 p.m. start on the campus of MCC.

MCC Golf Ready For New Season

From School Reports


The Meridian Community College golf team will open its 2011-2012 campaign at the Wallace State Fall Invitational September 12 – 13. The Eagles will be looking to defend their tournament title of a year ago, which saw MCC take home the team champion honors on way to a 14 under par total. The match will be held at Cullman Golf Course in Cullman, Alabama, and will mark the debut of new head coach, Clinton Hales. “We’re looking forward to going back to a familiar golf course that we’ve had a lot of success on in the past. Hopefully, we’ll be able to continue our good play on that course,” said Hales.

The Eagles will be led by returning Sophomore, Jake Stirling, who earned All-American honors as a Freshman. Stirling finished the 2010-2011 season with a strong 72.6 stroke average, which was second on the team. “We will count heavily on our sophomore class this fall, as they’re familiar with the courses we play and they understand what it takes to play competitive golf on this level. This week we’ll be playing against one of the strongest fields in junior college golf, so we’ll have to be prepared,” noted Hales.

To round out their lineup, the Eagles will also send out sophomores Alex Grannon and Meridian native Easton Key, to go along with Freshman Dylan Brown and Drew Boston, who will be making their debut for the green and white.