4 Questions With Marist Tennis Coach Tommy Marshall
We spoke with Marist tennis coach Tommy Marshall about his team’s state championship win.
Q: How long have you been involved with the tennis program there at Marist?
A: I have coached tennis at Marist for 10 years. I have been the AD at Marist for 25.
Q: What a great season it was with a state championship win! Did you feel like you had the team to beat from the start?
A: It was an exciting year as (we) faced uncertainty with COVID from day one. We played 12 different lines up during the season with quarantines and trying to tweak the lineup down the stretch. Our goal was to ‘play for each other’ and get to the finish line.
Q: Did you have a lot of seniors on this team? Do you think that was the key to winning the championship?
A: We had five seniors, and two of them were invaluable in the lineup at one doubles 14-3 (Reid Kelly and Brayden Miller). The lineup down the stretch included a sophomore, junior, and ninth-grader at singles and two juniors at two doubles.
The key to the season was the willingness to battle for each other until we were able to get 3 points to get a team victory. That mindset was so true in the state championship match. It was a match that both teams could have won. North Oconee has a great team, and the match was close until the end when two doubles clinched it with a 6-4, 6-4 win.
Q: So, how about this next year’s team? Do you think you’ll have a good shot at winning it all?
A: If the guys stay hungry and prepare well, I think they will be in the mix again next year. We were blessed with great chemistry, and the team battled for each other throughout the playoff stretch.
Written by: Phil Jones
