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The Morgan Academy tennis team has become an AISA state powerhouse under coach Baxter Stinson. The girls’ championship is the 16th state title and the 13th under Stinson, a number we find both incredible and impressive. The boys team finished second. 

The standard of championship expectations never gets old for Stinson, who expected a state title from the Lady Senators.

“The girls were impressive all year long. We finished the regular season undefeated as a team and only dropped two individual matches,” Stinson said. “We only had to replace one girl this year, and we had someone step right in and take her place. They did a great job again at state, and we took home another championship.”

The boys team finishing second might have even been a more impressive feat. They had to replace four players, which is nearly half of the lineup, but they came within one match of a championship title on their own. Their expectations weren’t very high this year, and they exceeded expectations.

We applaud each group of graduating students for passing their knowledge to future players, something Stinson taught them. That’s likely the reason why the boys didn’t take a step backward even though they had so many new faces.

“The kids learn from each other,” Stinson said. “The older players this year teach the younger players or their siblings what they’ve learned, and they pass it along to the next group. That’s just where our program is right now. They want to be a part of something special, and they don’t want their team to be the one that doesn’t make it back to state.”

At this time next year, we expect them to be in the hunt for another state title.