MCC Soccer Ends Season

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles fought to the very end in its Region 23 Championship match with the Lady Bulldogs of Mississippi Gulf Coast, but overtime would be very unkind to Meridian. Gulf Coast scored a goal from Skyler Dellancer in the final 24 seconds of sudden death overtime to defeat the Lady Eagles by a final score of 1-0 on Saturday night in Perkinston, MS.

MCC ends the season with a 7-6-2 overall record and was led by a great performance by keeper Chasity Robertson with 13 saves. Mississippi Gulf Coast also won the men's Region 23 Championship over Pearl River Saturday night by a final score of 2-0.

The MCC men were eliminated from the Region 23 Tournament on Friday night after a 3-1loss to Pearl River. Steven Smith scored the lone goal in the loss for the Eagles in the first half of action. The Eagles held a 1-0 lead after one half of play, but the Wildcats scored three unanswered goals in the second half. MCC ended the season with an overall record of 1-13.

The MCC women will lose seven sophomores after their superb play in 2011 and those include: Chasity Robertson, Brooke Dew, Melanie McCaskill, Courtney Green, Chelsea Jensen, Dana Warnock, and Chelsea Byrd. The MCC men will graduate six sophomores from this season and those include: Matthew Goudie, Michael Brann, Steven Smith, Eugene Gaseb, Reed Scarbrough, and Ben Jordan.

MCC Golf Ranked Number One

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team has built a very impressive early season list of accomplishments and the Eagles added one more to that list Monday morning. MCC was named as the top golf team in the country according to the newly released NJCAA Division I golf poll. The Eagles were named the number one team last week according to the latest Golfstat.com poll and this marks the first time in school history that the MCC golf team has been ranked number one in two different major golf polls.

“We are very honored to be named the number one team, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” said first year MCC head coach Clinton Hales. “I still see plenty of areas that we need some improvement and we have a long road ahead of us with the big part of our schedule coming up in the spring.”

MCC started the fall season with a tournament win in the Wallace State Invitational and followed that victory with a second place finish behind Central Alabama in the Jim Redgate Invitational. The Eagles bounced back with two more tournament wins in the month of October which included a victory at the District Preview in Coco Beach, FL and a victory at the MGCCC Holiday Inn Invitational in Gulfport, MS.

The three wins for MCC this fall is the best among all teams in the country and the Eagles return to action October 31-November 1 taking part in the Central Alabama Invitational in Alexander City, AL.

MCC Golf Wins Third Tournament of 2011 Fall Season

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team continued its winning ways on Tuesday with its third tournament championship of the season by securing the top spot in the MGCCC Holiday Inn Invitational at Windance Country Club in Gulfport, MS. The Eagles shot a final round score of 296 and finished the tournament with a team score of 580 which was two shots ahead of Darton College for the championship.

“I was very proud of the way we finished,” said MCC head coach Clinton Hales. “We had a very tough start to the final round, but we hit some big shots down the stretch that really sealed the victory for us.”

T.J. Morgan had the lowest round on the final day for Meridian with a 72, while Dylan Brown finished the final round with a 74. Brown and Jake Sterling each had crucial birdie putts for Meridian in the final two holes to seal the championship for the Eagles. Sterling ended his final round of play with a 76 and finished in second place overall to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team. Brown finished one stroke back of Sterling and earned a third place finish in the field which was good enough to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team.

The second-ranked Meridian Community College Eagles will close out the 2011 fall season October 31-November 1 as the Eagles will take part in the Central Alabama Community College Fall Invitational in Alexander City, AL.

MCC Golf Looking For Another Tournament Win

From School Reports

After firing an opening round of 4-under par (284), the Meridian Community College golf team finds itself at the top of the leaderboard once again, as the Eagles look to win for the third time to the start of the 2011-2012 season. The Eagles lead five-time national champion Central Alabama Community College and three-time national champion Darton College by five and six shots, respectively in the 2011 MGCCC Holiday Inn Invitational. MCC was led on day 1 by Sophomore Jake Stirling.

The Melbourne, Australia native had five birdies en route to a 4-under par round of 68. Stirling's round was the low round of the tournament during day one, as he'll carry a 1 shot lead into the second round over Central Alabama's Alex Mahlik, who shot 69. Freshman Dylan Brown also shot under par for the Eagles, carding a 1-under par 71. Meridian native and former Lamar School standout, Easton Key, shot even par, 72, while fellow sophomore, Alex Grannon shot a 73. Rounding out the scoring for MCC was Freshman T.J. Morgan, who had a 75.

"We played a solid round of golf today, and I was pleased with that. We didn't try to force too much, which is good because this golf course can make you pay if you do. We will have to play another really good round tomorrow in order to win because Central Alabama is playing good, as is Darton. They both have a lot of experienced players, who are playing well right now" said head coach, Clinton Hales.

MCC will be looking to win for the third time this year after having the lead going into the final round. "We've played well under the pressure of holding the lead so far this season and we hope to be able to do it again on Tuesday" noted Hales.

Final round play begins at 9:20am Tuesday from Windance Country Club in Gulfport, MS.

MCC Soccer Splits With Hinds

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles continued its great play Friday night at C.D. Smith with a 2-0 victory over Hinds Community College in junior college soccer action. The Lady Eagles improved to 7-5-1 with the two-goal victory over the visiting Lady Eagles to end the 2011 home portion of its schedule. MCC scored both of its goals in the second half of play and the first goal came from Chelsea Byrd in the opening minutes of the second half to give Meridian a 1-0 lead.

MCC added its final goal of the came to take the 2-0 victory over Hinds. Courtney Green scored on a penalty kick in the final minutes to put the match away for the Lady Eagles.

The Meridian Community College Eagles continued its struggles on Friday night as Hinds secured a 2-1 victory over MCC. The lone goal of the match came from Mark Varnado to tie the game at 1-1 in the second half of action. Hinds scored the game-winning goal in the final minutes of the second half to complete the victory over MCC.

The Eagles fell to 1-12 for the season and have lost nine straight matches after its setback at the hands of Hinds Friday night. Meridian concludes its 2011 regular season with a pair of matches on the road against Union University on October 21 in Jackson, TN. The Lady Eagles will play Union University at 1 p.m. and the MCC men will follow with its match at 3 p.m.

MCC Golf Set For MGCCC Invitational

From School Reports

The #2 ranked Meridian Community College golf team will look to continue its impressive early season success as it travels to Gulfport, MS to play in the Holiday Inn Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, hosted by Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at Windance Country Club. The Eagles will be looking for their 3rd victory in their first 4 tournaments as they look to improve upon last year's second place finish at this event. The Eagles won their first tournament of the 2011-2012 season, the Wallace State Fall Invitational, by an impressive 14 shots and also won the NJCAA District IV Preview by a whopping 23 shots.

"I'm proud of the way the guys handled the pressure of playing in our District Preview after traveling such a long way. We'll have to be on top of our games again this week as the field is one of the strongest we'll face all year. Great teams like Darton College and Central Alabama will be there this week, so we'll have to be at our best if we want to beat them. They're two of the better teams in the nation".

Freshman Dylan Brown leads the way for the Eagles with a 70.8 scoring average, which helped him secure his first individual medalist honor at the District Preview. Sophomores Alex Grannon, Easton Key, and Jake Stirling are all averaging under 73 strokes per round, and as a team MCC is averaging 282.8 strokes per round (team total is the top 4 out of 5 scores).

Play begins Monday, October 17, with the 36 holes scheduled, followed by 3rd round action on Tuesday, October 18.

MCC Women Fall To Heartland CC

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles looked to continue its winning ways Saturday at C.D. Smith Field against Heartland Community College, but things would not fall in the right direction for the Lady Eagles. Heartland scored a goal in each half of action to pitch a shutout of MCC by a final score of 2-0.

The Lady Eagles fell to 6-5-1 overall for the 2011 season and will return to action October 14 against Hinds Community College at 5 p.m. The Meridian Community College Eagles will also be in action against Hinds October 14 at 7 p.m. and both games will be played at C.D. Smith Field. The pair of games against the visiting Eagles will conclude the 2011 regular season home schedule for both the men and women.

MCC Women Tie, MCC Men Fall Short

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles continued its solid play as MCC tied Union University of Jackson, TN by a final score of 2-2 at C.D. Smith Field on Wednesday afternoon. The Lady Eagles moved its overall record to 6-4-1 after the tie with its visitors from Tennessee. Pam Gean scored both of the goals for Meridian and pushed her total to 13 goals scored for the 2011 season. MCC will return to action this Saturday as the Lady Eagles will play Heartland Community College at C.D. Smith Field beginning at 11 a.m.

The MCC men played a hard fought match with Union University, but feel short to the visiting Bulldogs by a final score of 2-1. Steven Smith scored the lone goal in the match for the Eagles and all of the scoring in the contest came in the second half of play. The MCC men fell to 1-10 overall for the 2011 season and will return to action October 14 against Hinds Community College at C.D. Smith Field beginning at 7 p.m.

MCC Golf Wins NJCAA District IV Preview Tournament

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team won its second tournament of the fall season and won in convincing fashion. The Eagles shot a final round of 285 and took home first place over Central Alabama by 23 strokes to capture the NJCAA District IV Preview Tournament Championship at Rockledge Country Club in Coca Beach, FL. The Eagles are currently ranked fifth in the nation and recorded its best performance of the fall season over the past two days.

“We played great over the course of two days and we played great as a team,” said first year MCC head coach Clinton Hales. “We got off to a slow start early on Monday, but put together some great scores over the last couple of rounds. I am extremely proud of the way we played and represented Meridian Community College.”

Jake Streling scored the best final round on the MCC squad with a score of 66 and Alex Grannon ended his final round with a score of 71. Dylan Brown ended his final round with a 73 and Easton Key fired a final round score of 75. T.J. Morgan wrapped up the top final rounds for the Eagles with a score of 77 on Tuesday.

Brown led the way in the two-day event for the Eagles to earn medalist honors with a total score of 206 (7 under par). Grannon and Streling each fired a 208 (5 under par) to give MCC the top three spots on the leaderboard to end the tournament. MCC will return to action October 17-18 in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Holiday Inn Invitational at Windance Golf Course in Gulfport, MS.

MCC Golf Leads After Round One of District Preview

From School Reports

Freshman Dylan Brown led the Meridian Community College golf team to a 17 shot lead after 36 holes of the District IV Preview Tournament held in Cocoa Beach, Florida at Rockledge Country Club. Brown shot rounds of 68 and 65 to not only stake MCC to the lead in the team portion of the event, but to also grab hold of the individual leader post going into Tuesday's final round. As a team, MCC shot 4 under par, 280, during the first round and carded a 9 under par (275) on the second round for a 555 total. Central Alabama Community College is in second place, followed by the host school, Brevard Community College.

"We played real well today. I'm really proud of the way the guys kept it together. We started out the day pretty bad, but turned it around by the end of the first round and were fortunate to go pretty low in the second round. Hopefully, we can play just as good tomorrow" said head coach, Clinton Hales.

Sophomore Alex Grannon was also able to shoot back-to-back rounds in the sixty's as he shot 68-69. Jake Stirling had consistent play for the Eagles, notching even par rounds of 71, while fellow Sophomore and former Lamar School standout, Easton Key was one shot back with rounds of 73-70. Freshman T.J. Morgan rounded out the scoring for MCC with rounds of 82-72.
Round 2 begins Tuesday at 8:10am.

MCC Women Sweep Rush Invitational Tournament

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles enjoyed a great deal of success with a pair of victories in the 2011 Rush Invitational Tournament this weekend at C.D. Smith Field. The Lady Eagles opened the tournament with a 3-2 victory on Friday against Middle Georgia College and secured a 5-0 shutout win over Gordon College on Saturday.

MCC improved to 6-4 overall for the 2011 season and has won three straight home matches dating back to its 2-1 victory over Lon Morris last weekend.

MCC held off a late rally on Friday by Middle Georgia to hold on for a 3-2 win to open the tournament. The Lady Eagles scored its first goal of the tournament in the first ten minutes of play as Pam Gean scored to put MCC up 1-0. Courtney Green added the second goal of the match for MCC against Middle Georgia to give the Lady Eagles a 2-0 with ten minutes until the half. Meridian scored its final goal of the match with five minutes left in the first half from Green to give the Lady Eagles a 3-0 lead.

Middle Georgia scored a pair of goals in the opening minutes of the second half, but MCC was able to hold on for a 3-2 victory over Middle Georgia on Friday.

The Lady Eagles completed the weekend sweep of the Rush Invitational Tournament with a 5-0 victory over Gordon College on Saturday at C.D. Smith Field. Pam Gean led the way in the Saturday match for MCC with three goals and Green also added a goal in the win for MCC. Kari Zendejas also chipped in with a goal in the five-goal victory for the Lady Eagles.

The MCC men didn’t enjoy the same success in the tournament as the Eagles lost its opener in the event on Friday to Middle Georgia by a final of 6-0 and MCC was defeated by Gordon College on Saturday 5-1. Mark Varnado scored the only goal of the weekend and it came in the second half of the match against Gordon College. The MCC men have lost seven straight matches after losing a pair in the Rush Invitational Tournament.

MCC will return to action Wednesday against Union University at C.D. Smith Field with the Lady Eagles playing at 1p.m. followed by the men’s match at 3 p.m.