Make that two in a row for Caledonia High School tennis player Sunny Logan.
Logan, who is just a freshman, won her second consecutive girls individual state championship last week, winning the singles title in the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A championships.
Logan, who trains at Magnolia Tennis Club in Columbus, defeated Addy Seward of Richland, 6-2, 6-1, in the championship match.
Sunny’s accomplishment has earned her Dispatch High School Athlete of the Week honors.
“Sunny is just a really dedicated tennis player, a great tennis player,” said Billy Clark, her coach at Magnolia Tennis Club. “She started when she was young and she works at it. She’s out here pretty much every day.”
She is not only a star at Caledonia, but one of the reasons Caledonia High School even has a team. After moving to Caledonia, her mom helped the school start a tennis program. This year, the team won a first-round match in district play for the first time in school history.
“Her and her mom really got into it and got that started,” Clark said.
And that is just a part of the remarkable story of Sunny Logan. Nearly five years ago, she was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, a rare cancer that is difficult to diagnose and can be fatal if left untreated.
She underwent treatments at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and eventually was declared to be cancer free.
Sunny appeared on NBC’s Today Show and also met her idol, pro tennis player Maria Sharapova, and participated in a surprise workout with her at the IMG Academy in Florida in 2014 when Sunny was just 10 years old and already a tennis whiz.
“Very inspirational,” Clark said.
At the state championships, Logan lost just one game in her first three matches and didn’t lose any sets. She was the top seed, and defeated Jacquline Leflore of Greenwood, Holly Stewart of Pontotoc and Isabella Aldridge of New Albany on the way to the finals.
Sunny’s brother, Hunter, placed second in the boys singles championships, and is a golf commit at Mississippi State University.
Paul Bowker is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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