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Fort Dale Academy’s girls’ Tennis team claimed the 2018 Runner-Up title in the AISA State Tennis Tournament, held at Lagoon Park in Montgomery earlier this week. The team consisted of five singles players and two doubles teams including: Victoria Son at first seed, Jamie Pickens at second seed, Megan Wright at third seed, Claire Hutson at fourth seed, and Maire Scott at fifth seed. In addition to their team win, there were several individual winners as well. Ninth grader, Megan Wright, was runner up at her seed, while Claire Hutson, seventh grader, was runner up at state as well. Maire Scott, another seventh grader, earned the state title at fifth seed. Wright and Scott, were also runners up in second seed doubles. Pickens, ninth grader, made it to the semi finals in singles, while tenth grader, Son, fell in a tough match first round to Glenwood. The Pickens/Son doubles team fell first round to a talented Tuscaloosa pair. Fort Dale’s girls finished their regular season with only one team loss and went into the state tournament ranked second in their region.

Fort Dale boys competed at the state tournament as well, where John Millan Gaston made it to the semi final round at fifth seed. The five players competing on the boys team included Nate Richardson at first, Andy Seo at second, Brody Stringer at third, Grant Mcgriff at fourth, and John Milan Gaston at fifth.

Wright, Hutson and Scott played 3 singles matches over the 2-day state tournament, while Scott and Wright played an additional 3 doubles matches to make it to the finals on Tuesday. The 3 girls each faced players from Morgan Academy in their finals matches. Morgan went on to claim their second consecutive state title.

When Scott was asked what it felt like to win her state title, she said,

“It was very exciting! My goal for the season was to win state, and I was happy to achieve that.” She also stated, “All 3 of my sisters were members of an FDA state champion tennis team, so it was very exciting to me to win my first championship!”

Head coach, Jennie Hamilton, says she is encouraged about the future of Fort Dale Tennis. “This is such a special group of kids. I’ve worked with most of these players since they were little, so to see them succeed on this level is very exciting. For them to be so young, they are really making people turn their heads and take notice,” said Hamilton. “ This team has worked hard and is eager to play more and keep improving. While some teams enjoy a nice hiatus after their season, these players are anxious to keep at it, looking for tournaments and camps to attend over the summer.” The Eagles will have all of their players returning next year and have high hopes for another winning season.