LAFAYETTE, LA. (KLFY) — This week KLFY honored Athlete of Week McAllister Morrow who is an eighth grade tennis state champion at Ascension Episcopal School.

When asked how her interested in tennis started Morrow said she was introduced to tennis at a very young age.

“I started playing when I was five, and whenever I was five, I went to a little summer day camp where you did tennis, golf, and swimming.” Morrow said. “Whenever it got to tennis, there was a line of kids that were going to play. The other kids just kind of started playing in like the clay of the court. I was the only one that just wanted to hit with the coach, and then I asked my parents if I could play in the summer, and they were like, yeah. They put me in tennis and I’ve been in love with it ever since.”

Back on May 2nd, this eighth grader won the LHSAA Division Four Girls’ Tennis Singles State Championship. Morrow won the match in straight sets, winning the first set six games to one and the second set six games to two. McAllister shared how she felt to win her first state championship.

“It was awesome, really. It was an amazing experience. I mean, after I was just so excited.” Morrow said. “I just threw my hands up, you know, and then I had the whole team behind me supporting me when I got off the court. It was a really amazing experience.”

Morrow thanked Ascension for granting her the opportunity to play on varsity and make history.

“Ascension allowed me to play up because eighth grade is on the high school campus, and at a lot of schools, they don’t have that, so it was just awesome that they even allowed me to do that.” Morrow said.

This blue gator not only won the state title, but she extended her win streak to 109 consecutive games. Morrow said winning nine matches in a row was not an easy feat.

“I just had to stay focused, stay concentrated the whole time, and keep my head in the game. I can’t believe I did that. That was amazing. I just had to stay in there every time. It was great.” Morrow said.

Outside of sports, Morrow is in the Spanish Cooking Club and is an ambassador at Ascension. She also loves to hang out with her biggest supporters, her family and friends, as well as her teammates and coaches.

“My teammates, a lot of them were seniors, especially on the state team. It’s just great to look up to the people that I want to become.” Morrow said. “I want to be them whenever I’m a senior, and the coaches, that’s a whole different thing. They were amazing. I got so lucky to have those coaches. They were able to accommodate me because I play tennis outside of just school tennis too.”

And with the state champion moving up to ninth grade, she shared what it is going to take for her to win another state tennis title.

“I just got to keep working hard. There are other great players and they’re going to be working hard too, so if I just keep working hard and keep doing what I’m doing, I’ll hopefully end up doing good in state next year and the next.” Morrow said.

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