Daniel Talley has plenty of reasons to smile.
Five years ago, Talley took over as New Hope High School tennis coach with little fanfare. Talley’s decision to lead the program didn’t make a big impact because, as he readily admits, some people didn’t know the school had a tennis team.
But Talley and the 15 boys and the 19 girls on New Hope’s A and B teams are changing that.
Last week, New Hope’s singles players and doubles teams solidified their seeding for the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A Team tournament with strong showings in Louisville. The performances at the region tournament came on the heels of an 8-1 regular-season finish and a 4-0 mark in Region 4. The undefeated region record helped New Hope earn the right to play host to Amory at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the Class 4A State tournament at Lake Lowndes State Park in Columbus.
For its accomplishment, the New Hope High tennis team is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
Talley said New Hope’s run through Leake Central, Noxubee County, Kosciusko, and Louisville in region play has featured a combined score of 27-1. That march gives Talley cautious optimism for his team’s match against Amory.
“This season has been about consistency and seeing who steps up on a given day,” Talley said. “We haven’t had one player be perfect for the whole year.”
Talking about consistency is a change from when Talley took over a program he recalls having five boys and two girls. He said he has worked to recruit players in the school. Talley said part of his ability to convince boys and girls to come out for the team stems from the fact he is an English teacher at New Hope Middle School. He said he has had nearly all of his players as students, which has made it easier for him to encourage them to try the sport for the first time or to do come out and be part of another group.
In the case of John David East, Talley remembers his current senior telling him he wasn’t an athlete when he was in the eighth grade. Talley didn’t relent and ultimately convinced East to see himself as an athlete and a student.
“He kind of assumed he did not fit the mold of a high school athlete,” Talley said. “What intrigued him about it was the math aspect — the spin, the wrist, the control. Tennis is about so much finesse. You don’t have to be the fastest or the strongest. … There is not a one-size-fits-all tennis player. What I sell the kids on is the fact at a certain point is there is a time they will never play football, soccer, baseball again. They can be 80 years old and play tennis. This is a life sport.”
East is the only senior boy in the starting lineup. Juniors Landon Purvis and Nate Pope and sophomores Logan Yarbrough, Ben Bradley, Luke O’Brian, and Garrett Mills round out the boys starters.
Sophomore Tony Nogales and freshman Jasper Poag also are members of the A team.
Freshman Caleb Ladd, eighth-graders Cade Graves and Gabriel Talley, and seventh-graders Haynes Banks, Mack Mills, and Mark Winters are on the B team.
On the girls side, seniors Brooklyn Lane and Jada Moore are starters, while classmates Kelly Williams and Lien Thys also are on the A team. Junior Audrey Kate Wilson, sophomore Maggie Taylor, eighth-grader Hannah East, and seventh-grader Kendall Moody round out the starting lineup.
Juniors Ryann Latham, Sarah Cargile, and Georgia Brown, ninth-grader Emma Alexander, and seventh-grader Caroline Wilson also are on the A team.
Sophomore Annalisa Robertson, freshman Bree Younger, eighth-grader Jocie Nesom, seventh-grader Akiya Vance, and manager Ally Black are on the B team.
Talley remembers when John David East used to bring Hannah, his sister, to practice. He said that exposure at a young age helped Hannah improve and carve out a spot in starting lineup. For now, Hannah is one of the few players on the team Talley hasn’t defeated in a match. He said he regularly plays against his student-athletes during the season and out of the season in an attempt to build a rapport with them. Talley said the matches frequently are unscheduled — like one on an unseasonably warm Christmas Eve — and have helped foster team chemistry.
Talley said those bonds have carried over to the court, where he said the players work well together. Like most teams, Talley said his squad has its ups and downs, but he said everyone has taken pride in raising the program’s profile in a school where baseball, football, basketball, and softball usually attract a lot of the attention. He said his players have come from various backgrounds — baseball, soccer, band, cheerleading — to form a unique bond.
“We have kids who would never, ever be in the same program together are on the tennis team,” Talley said. “There is a real diversity.”
Baseball
n New Hope 9, Fayette County 8: The Trojans scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning Monday to improve to 21-4.
New Hope used a seven-run fourth inning to build a lead.
Statistics from the game weren’t available at press time.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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