Group photo: From left to right: Eli Matthews, Connor Calhoun, Aydan Anderson, Hudson Freeman, Luke Oliver, Hayden Davis, Creed Clardy.
Images courtesy of Bevill State Community College
The Bevill State Community College Men’s Tennis Team will head to Frisco, Texas, on May 13 to compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tennis Tournament. The team has made great strides this year to reach the goal of qualifying for nationals.
“It’s been a roller coaster,” says coach Eli Matthews. “We had really good moments in the fall competing at regionals, and I liked our progress.”
Approximately 60 teams from 24 regions will compete at the national tournament in Texas. Aydan Anderson, Luke Oliver, Connor Calhoun, Creed Clardy, Hayden Davis, and Jaylon Stevenson will represent Bevill State in the competition.
Matthews said these players and the rest of the team have worked hard throughout the season. This is only the second year the school has had a tennis program, and simply qualifying for this event is an important milestone for the team.
“I’m proud of the boys this season. They have all put in a great amount of hard work to make this happen. Each year, we have steps that we want to reach. Going into this season, the goal was to qualify for nationals. Nationals was the step this season,” Matthews explains. “We feel accomplished and relaxed because we reached our goal for the year. Now, nationals will be about enjoying the experience.”
Matthews adds that the tennis program at Bevill State is made possible by the support of the local community.
“This adventure that we have gone on, creating this program, was started because of how much the community cares about tennis, and we appreciate that.” WL
