Mobile, AL—The Marion Military Institute men's tennis team headed to the courts at the Mobile Tennis Center on Friday afternoon hoping to wrest the championship mantle from Wallace State Community College, last year's Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) champion. The Tigers went out and played their best tennis of the year, delivering the knockout blow in singles play by winning 11 out of a possible 12 points to secure their sixth ACCC title in seven years. The Tigers then added five more points in doubles play to end the day with a stunning total of 16 points.
On court 1, Danny Boussom blasted his way to a 6-3, 6-1 win over last year's ACCC MVP, Cade Pressnell. As the Flight 1 singles champion, Boussom was named the 2018 ACCC MVP, thus joining an exclusive club of former conference MVP's from MMI—Alex Fioravante (2012) and Shepherd Newcomb (2013).
Chris Lee stunned the crowd by turning an all-but-certain loss into a win. Down 2-6, 0-4, Lee didn't pack up his tennis bag and go home. Instead, he fought back from the brink of defeat to win 12 of the last 15 games and the match, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Isaiah Polk continued MMI's winning ways with a gritty first-set performance, prevailing 10-8 in the tiebreaker. Polk captured the second set, 6-1.
At Flight 4 singles, Kai Tougas defeated Gadsden State's Joel Wester, 6-2, 6-3.
Connor Higginbotham took the first set, 6-2, before his Wallace State opponent had to retire from the match at No. 5 singles.
Quentin Llewellyn, at No. 6 singles, defeated Wallace State's Check Freeman, 6-1, 7-5, before losing to the No. 1-seeded player, Gadsden State's Rashon Sessoms, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
In doubles play, Boussom and Higginbotham downed Gadsden State's Bram Kronendonk and Brett Blackburn, 8-3; Lee and Tougas defeated Wallace State's Donny Camp and Nick Hester, 8-3; and Polk and Llewellyn lost a squeaker to Wallace State's Andrew Bizilia and Check Freeman, 9-8 (2).
"The boys saved their best tennis for last," said coach Charles Wright. "They played with their hearts and their feet—and they even used their heads today. All six players stepped up their games. I was pleasantly surprised and somewhat shocked at how well everyone played in both singles and doubles. That was a tremendous team effort. I couldn't have asked for anything more. They gave everything they had."
ACCC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year - Chuck Wright- Marion Military
ACCC Men's Tennis Player pf the Year - Danny Boussom - Marion Military