FAIRHOPE, Ala.—Fairhope’s Margaret Adams signed to play tennis with Loyola in New Orleans.

“Margaret is a very confident player and is always upbeat and encouraging everyone else to play their best,” said tennis coach Tori Johnson. “She went undefeated (singles matches) this year in the regular season. At the number four spot for us she finished the season 18-1 overall. Looking in terms of games she won a total of 114 games and she only lost six.”

She also went undefeated in doubles with partner Chloe Warren to help lead the Pirates to the Section 1 championship. The pair went 20-0 at No. 2 doubles until falling to Mountain Brook in the state championship match. “Chloe is a great partner,” Adams said. “We complement each other real well. She carried me a lot this year. We both play hard point by point on offense and defense. Good partners.”

 The Loyola Wolf Pack competes in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), Division I, as a member of the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC).

 “I want to thank my parents, Robert and Lisa and teammates, all my coaches and teachers who helped me get to this point, Chloe and coach Johnson and coach Butch Johnson and Mr. (FHS principal Jon) Cardwell.

Johnson had three tennis players sign this year: Adams, Dotson and Heather Tabor who signed with Huntingdon.

“I don’t know of any schools that have had three in one class sign to play tennis,” she said. “It doesn’t happen a lot. It does say a lot about the dedication of the kids and the quality of the instruction they get in this area. Like anything, though, you have to put in the time and hard work to get to this level. Just being athletic will only get you so far. Same is true for the academics. These girls put in the time with the books, too. Obviously, or they wouldn’t be signing to play at the next level.”