Cullen McDonough knows tennis isn’t at the top of the list when people think about things associated with the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.
MSMS, the state of Mississippi’s only public, residential high school designed to meet the needs of the Mississippi’s most academically gifted students, prefers to keep academic pursuits as the main focus for all of its students.
But McDonough, Eliza Barrow, and the rest of the MSMS tennis team are doing their best to raise the sport’s profile at the school. Today, MSMS will take on Alcorn Central in the third round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A State tournament. This is the first time MSMS has advanced to the third round of the state tournament. Victories against North Pontotoc and Kossuth have helped the Blue Waves make history.
“From the first match or two, I could see we definitely were going to do really well, at least as well as we did last year (when the team made the first round of the state tournament),” said McDonough, a senior from Ridgeland who is undefeated in singles play. “I knew our team was at least as good as it was last year.”
The team has six boys and six girls play in a match. There is a No. 1 singles for boys and girls, a No. 1 and a No. 2 boys and girls doubles, and one mixed doubles team. A team needs to take four of the seven matches to win.
McDonough is one of the team’s most experienced players. He won the Class 5A No. 1 singles title as a freshman and as a sophomore at Ridgeland High. He said he came to MSMS for academic challenge. He will attend Oxford College of Emory University in Atlanta to study business.
McDonough said he realized early in the school year that the team would have plenty of experience. He said he also tried to find as many players as he could in the school to round out the roster. He hasn’t been surprised by how far the team has advanced in the state tournament.
“I wanted to make it to playoffs, but, like we said before, it was our first time making it to the second round of playoffs, so I wasn’t expecting to make it to the third round,” McDonough said. “It is great. I can see us getting to state for sure now.”
Janie Guyton Shields is the coordinator of the Life Enrichment Program at Mississippi University for Women. MSMS is located on the MUW campus in Columbus. Shields, who also plays tennis, is in her first season as the team’s coach. She has trumpeted the team’s success in its first two victories in the state tournament.
“These kids are amazing,” Shields said. “They make sure they have their schoolwork done and then they come out and play tennis. After practice, they go straight to study hours. It has been great. These are some awesome kids. They are so respectful. I am really enjoying it.”
Shields said the team’s success is even more impressive considering the players are together for one or two years at the most. The school is for juniors and seniors from throughout the state. Shields said it has been exciting seeing kids from different backgrounds and different parts of the state come together to make history.
“I wouldn’t say I am surprised,” Shields said. “When I first got out here, I couldn’t believe how great they were playing. … It has been really good to watch them grow. We have a few players who are new to tennis, but they’re winning and doing good, too.”
Barrow, a senior from Tupelo, plays at No. 1 girls singles. She said she played tennis as an eighth-grader and as a ninth-grader at Tupelo High School but that it wasn’t something that was her No. 1 priority.
Barrow, who will attend Texas Christian University in the fall, said she is taking the sport a little more seriously this season due in part to the team’s success. She said she has lost only one match in the regular season and that she will be the No. 2 seed in the individual tournament later this month.
“It definitely has been surprising,” Barrow said, “but it has been a lot of fun and really exciting. You always hear about the academic side of things here and how we succeed academically, but it is exciting when other aspects of the school succeed as well.”
Baseball
n Starkville Academy 8-3, Magnolia Heights 5-9
At Senatobia, the Volunteers completed the regular season with a doubleheader split.
In the opener, Colt Chrestman’s RBI single in the top of the seventh inning broke a 5-5 tie and highlighted a three-run frame for the Volunteers. John McReynolds also singled home an insurance run.
Hunter Tranum allowed seven hits and five runs in six innings to earn the win.
Chrestman had three hits and three RBIs.
Griffin Little took the loss in Game 2. He allowed five runs in three innings. Drake Gordman had two hits.
Starkville Academy (23-9) will play host to Oak Forest Academy on Tuesday in Game 1 of the best-of-three Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II playoffs.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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