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Mississippi Team Extinguishes The Competition

FIREFIGHTERS THRIVE IN HEAT

By Michael Rardon/USTA Southern intern





Two firefighters show their chops on the court.

Trey Love/All American Imaging

With players dealing with the heat in Mobile, Ala., one team in particular is thriving in this weather. The men’s 3.0 team from Cypress Hills Tennis Club in Mississippi are enjoying playing in a temperature that is hundreds of degrees cooler than their work environment. The team consists of five firemen, including the fire chief, fire marshal and three firemen at the local fire station.

While they are not immune to the extreme playing conditions at this week’s USTA League Southern Section Championships, they are not immersed in the scorching fires they regularly extinguish.

The team has dominated this season. They were undefeated in the regular season and won 32 of 40 individual matches. The heat here at the championships has not slowed the team down. After their first two matches they are 2-0 and sitting on top of their group standings.

USTA League teams have a reputation for being close knit groups, with many team traditions and quirks. However, this team takes the friendship to a unique level. Working in the fire station and fighting fires together creates a friendship that is often paralleled to a band of brothers. On top of this brotherhood, the team also consists of two sets of true brothers, making them arguably the closest teams here.

The team has become incredibly close friends over the years playing together. In addition to tennis, they often play basketball and golf together. The team loves going out to dinner and spending time relaxing together here in Mobile.

Lead by the firefighters, they look to continue their dominance and conquer the week’s heat in order to play their way to the USTA National Championships.

 Team

 Mississippi Men’s 3.0

 Home Courts

 Greenville, MS

 Captain

 Tyler Morgan

 Fun Fact

 Firefighters have played golf, softball, basketball
 and volleyball together.