NATCHEZ &045; Tennis really is the sport that lasts a lifetime, and the Gulf Coast men’s 3.0 60s team wants this to be a season with memories that last just as long.

The Gulf Coast St. Amant team claimed the Mississippi Super Seniors 3.0 60s title Saturday at Margaret Martin Gym and will advance to the Southern Section tournament in Pelham, Ala. It’s the second straight season the St. Amant team claimed the state title, but this time it’s about more than a stat title.

The title is nice and all, but the sectional tournament is what it’s all about now.

&uot;We’ve added three players,&uot; said captain Skip St. Amant, a Pascagoula resident. &uot;It feels good to win this. We’re hoping this year we can put it all together and bring the sectional championship back to Mississippi.&uot;

The Gulf Coast team was able to play solid tennis Friday and Saturday in the tournament that became abbreviated when the rains came. Weather put most of the tournament indoors with some action taking place at Duncan Park Saturday afternoon, and some divisions opted not to play and rescheduled for later in the year.

St. Amant’s team matched up against the North Central team on Saturday and claimed two wins to claim the title. Each pairing had three matches, and the Gulf Coast team took two of three in each.

The rain significantly altered everything, but St. Amant said his team just hung in there.

&uot;We just said, ‘We’re up here, we’ll play and do the best we can,’&uot; he said. &uot;It worked out. Natchez is a great tennis town. We’ve been here for some of the mixed tournaments, and we’ve always enjoyed coming to Natchez for tennis.&uot;

In the second match, Gulf Coast got wins from Wayne Hearn and St. Amant over Bob Crenshaw and Dick Boyd, 8-2, while Curtis Atwood and Terry Miller won by forfeit. North Central’s win came when Ben Pettis and Ed Keiser beat Emile Baumhauer and Bruce Davis, 9-8.

In the first match Saturday, Hearn and St. Amant claimed a 8-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over Pettis and Boyd. Pete Mitchell and Davis won over Pettis and Keiser by forfeit. North Central’s win came when Luck Winn and Crenshaw beat Ben Moore and Bill Warfield, 8-5, 6-4, 6-4.

In women’s 3.0 70s, the Delta team claimed the state title over the East Central team in a best-of-three series and will go to sectionals in Pelham. The Greenville-based Delta team won two in the final match when Mary Lou Sandefur and Carlene Cefalu claimed a 9-7 win over Dorothy Bardeshaw and Nancy Newton and Josie Fratesi edged Helen Evans and Carolyn Elkin, 9-8.

Columbus-based East Central got its win when Eleanor Dudley and Margaret Weir topped Argrett Lewing and Jean Lambert, 8-4.

&uot;They all were (close) today, yesterday and the day before,&uot; Lambert said. &uot;We lost a couple of good players, but we gained two good ones. When you get 70, there are a lot of things that take place of playing tennis.&uot;

In the first match Saturday, East Central claimed two out of three. Burdeshaw and June Palmer beat Lewing and Lambert, 8-2, while Dudley and Weir beat Nancy Newton and Frantesi, 8-0. Delta got its win when Cefalu and Sandefur edged Evans and Elkin, 8-3.

On Friday, Delta claimed two out of three. Sandefur and Cefalu downed Dudley and Weir, 9-7, 7-6, 7-5, while Lewing and Lambert edged Elkin and Evans, 8-6, 7-6, 6-4.

In men’s 3.5 55, the Gulf Coast team won to advance to the sectional tournament. That team downed the Natchez-based Tony Byrne team by taking two of three in the match with Byrne’s win coming when Robert Dunn and Jim Lessley beat Harold McLaughlin and Ted Rounsaville, 8-4.

Gulf Coast’s wins were John Kinard and Will Clark over Lee Jones and Edward Kaiser, 8-1, and Fred Singer and James Davidson over Doug Nigreville and Mike Pevey, 8-2.