Although Milton High School senior Blake McDonald is active in other school sports like baseball and track, it was his talents in tennis which earned him a full-ride scholarship with the Marion Military Institute in Alabama.
“I have always been passionate about the sport ever since I was little,” McDonald said. “I love the competition, it’s you against everyone else.”
McDonald’s play on the court benefited the Panthers this season, according to his coach Dennis Smith, who also teaches social studies at the school.
“He would win almost every single match, he was 10-2 in singles,” Smith said. “Right away I could see that he was above the normal talent level. So he quickly became our number one player.”
McDonald said the school’s team hard work which helped the team improve.
“I feel like everyone on the team improved drastically,” he said. “We had a good team chemistry and we worked hard in practice.”
Another highlight this season for Blake was playing doubles alongside his brother Chase a junior on the team.
“It was a great experience,” McDonald said. “I’ve played (tennis) with him every summer and we would play just for fun, we never thought we would play as partners one day.”
Successful play in doubles matches is just part of what has attributed to the team’s success.
Among the skill sets McDonald brings to a tennis court, Smith said McDonald is accurate and excels when playing at the net.
“I think at the next level that is going to be his area of expertise, whether it will be in singles or double, wherever Marion decides to place him, he is really going to excel there.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Tennis: Milton’s McDonald commits to Marion Military Institute in Alabama