Balancing team and individual goals sometimes can be a difficult proposition in sports like golf, swimming, and tennis.
But the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science tennis team hasn’t had any of those issues.
Instead of each player shooting for individual glory, the MSMS players said the squad has benefited from a team approach that everyone bought into at the beginning of the season. As a result, coach Katie Newman’s team has chalked up an impressive 9-2 record and earned a chance to play St. Andrew’s on Monday in Jackson for the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A State title.
MSMS is the state of Mississippi’s only public, residential high school. It is designed to meet the needs of the state’s best juniors and seniors. Tennis teams at the school have had success in the past and have advanced to the state tournament, but this season’s squad has elevated its game to a level everyone acknowledges is even more impressive.
On Monday, Frank Seid will play Alcorn Central’s Evan Hodum in boys singles. Maggie Ford will play Booneville’s Carson Kitchens in girls singles. The No. 1 boys doubles team of Daniel Leetran and Brent Styles will face Forest’s Nelson Montero Ortiz and Jordamein Stewart. The No. 2 boys doubles team of Noah McKone and Russell Hatcher will take on the fourth-seeded team of Scott Childers and Chance Curbow, of Mooreville. The No. 1 girls doubles team of Sarrah Der-Ballout and Erin
Owens will face Mooreville’s Emily Chandler and Laiken Lambert. The mixed doubles team of Morgan Dollar and David Thaggard will play Ruleville’s Mya Bell and Keyuntae Walls.
Vivian Van and Kenadi Freeman also play doubles on the team.
Ford, a senior, is from Waynesboro. She played tennis her first two years at Wayne County High School. She will study biomedical engineering in the fall at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee. This is hr second year on the tennis team at MSMS.
“We’re all willing to work as a team, and no one is worried mainly about themselves,” Ford said. “We’re all working as a team to see how we can do the best.”
Ford said the team altered its approach from last year to look at which player needs to play where to help the team the most. She said she played doubles at the beginning of the year before moving solely to singles. She is 4-0 in singles. Ford said her ability to use strategy over power is the strength of her game. She said she tries to use a lot of angles and to try to keep her opponent on the baseline to dictate points.
Ford is looking forward to playing in the state tournament. This will be her first time playing in the event.
McKone, a senior, is from Brookhaven. He played tennis his first two years at Enterprise Attendance Center. Hatcher, who is from Columbus (Columbus High), is his second doubles partner of the season. John Howell was his first partner this season, but Howell suffered an injury.
McKone said Hatcher and Howell play different styles, which forced him to make an adjustment. While McKone said Howell plays with a lot of technique, Hatcher is more of an athlete who hustles to the ball and moves his feet. McKone said he is similar in style to Hatcher, which explains why they have worked so well together.
“At first, it was kind of rough because you are used to this one person,” McKone said. “He was my partner junior year, too. … We have managed to come together relatively fast. We are friends outside of tennis and we are friends, so that helps, too.”
McKone agrees with Ford that the chemistry and camaraderie between all of the players has given the team an advantage. He said the fact that the students live together and have been active in practices four times a week — even on an off day like Wednesday — has motivated everyone to give their best to tennis for as long as they can.
“Nobody here is really selfish,” McKone said. “If anyone is in the wrong, someone can step in there and help you out, and they’re not afraid to do that. We’re not going to take offense to it because we know it is not in their interest, it is in the interest of the whole team. That is why I have enjoyed this year a lot, just how everybody doesn’t care about themselves. They care about the team as a whole.”
Dollar, a senior from Brandon, echoes her teammates’ thoughts. She played tennis in her first two years at Hartfield Academy. She and Thaggard, who is from Clarksdale, epitomize the teamwork that has been the bedrock of the squad. She doesn’t consider herself a “tennis junkie,” but she feels the players on this year’s team have more tennis experience than previous squads. Dollar said the players’ history with the game has encouraged them to be involved with tennis as much as their studies allow. The result has been a season to remember all of the players hopes comes to a special ending next week.
“We have a lot of talent this year. I am really proud of that,” Dollar said. “It is really great to have a team that is so good at what we do. Here, sports aren’t really as valued as much as they are at a normal public high school, so it is awesome to see that a group of kids can find time in their busy schedules to come out here and really work at the things they love and be really good at it.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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