How one South Georgia team has built a tennis powerhouse the old-fashioned way
Tennis hasn’t always been a big thing at Telfair County High School. It was so insignificant that the school’s tennis courts were right in the middle of the football practice field.
But times have changed, and over the last decade, the boys’ and girls’ programs have flourished. On Wednesday, the girls play Lake Oconee Academy in Rome for the Class A Division II championship in an effort to defend their state championship and win a fifth title since 2019.
The rise of the school’s tennis hopes can’t be tied to a rise in population. Telfair County, best known as the hometown of former governor and U.S. Sen. Herman Talmadge, has only a smidge more than 12,000 residents. There are no hot-shot tennis academies in town, and longtime coach Lee Cook doesn’t have an NIL deal with the local Southern Star Grill that can tempt transfers.
It’s just happened with some old-fashioned hard work.
“We just have some good kids, and we try to get them to play in the summer and the fall,” Cook said. “We get them to play in some tournaments against good competition and they get better. That’s how we’ve done it.”
Cook is as close to a lifer as you can get. He was born and raised there, played football and baseball at Telfair County High School and left long enough to get his degree and play golf at Middle Georgia College in Cochran, about 45 minutes away. He came back home 40 years ago as an assistant football coach and science teacher at his old high school.
“They told me I’d be coaching football in the fall and tennis in the spring,” Cook said. “I told them, ‘I don’t know how to coach tennis. I barely know which end of the racket to hold.’”
He figured it out, and soon came to love coaching tennis. And when it came time to retire 10 years ago and trim down his schedule, he made sure he could remain as the tennis coach.
His hard work to grow the program is evident by the sheer numbers. There are 50 kids in the program. They willingly accept the challenge of playing a difficult schedule, often butting heads with top teams in higher classifications to toughen them up for the playoffs.
“They might not have great records because of the schedule, but it helps them get better,” Cook said.
The progress has shown during the playoffs. Telfair County, the No. 1 seed from Region 4, has not lost a match in the state tournament, beating Mount Zion 5-0, Lincoln County 5-0, Irwin County 3-0 and Trion 3-0.
The team is led at No. 1 singles by Sarah Williams, a senior who was an all-state selection at No. 2 singles last year. Senior Ryleigh Jones, an aggressive player who made all-state last season, plays No. 2 and Sydney Singleton, a sophomore who played doubles last year, is at No. 3 singles.
The No. 1 doubles team is senior Sailee Siddall and junior Bhavi Patel. They trailed 1-4 in the match against Irwin County but came back to win 6-4. The No. 2 doubles team is senior Carlin Knowles and junior Emalee Ashley.
Those old tennis courts have been bulldozed and replaced elsewhere on campus. Now, the matches are played at the sprawling Telfair County Recreation Center. And, unlike the early days, the matches have become a social event, drawing parents, students and fans. One of the fathers even livestreamed the last three matches.
“There’s a lot of interest,” Cook said. “We’re very happy to have the support of the community.”
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
