Words by Riley Aldridge | Images by Ryan McGill

The game of tennis has been an influential part of Jasper, Alabama, for as long as most people can remember. Growing up, students in the Jasper City school system were told many stories about the fight for a win at state and the mental and physical strength players had to possess to secure victory. For years, however, many of the top players from Jasper had no local college option in which to continue their on-court success. 

That problem is no longer. 

After years of community work and support, Bevill State Community College started its own tennis team this year. Led by head coach Eli Matthews, the squad is up and running and already competing in matches. 

According to Matthews, the Bears are currently focusing on conditioning and preparing for the spring season. Matthews says he focuses five days a week on fitness and believes the work during the fall will provide the strength his team needs for its upcoming conference schedule.

“We run for at least an hour and a half and then we probably get an hour of tennis in,” he says.  

For local players, the college tennis program is an answer to prayers. When Jenna Brown, who played tennis at Jasper High School, heard a college team was starting in her hometown, pure joy spread across her face. After playing on the Jasper High School varsity team for four years and attending numerous clinics and tournaments, she hoped her hard work would pay dividends. While working her way up the lineup, Jenna was determined to find a way to continue her tennis career. That eventually came in the form of a scholarship to the new program at Bevill. 

Though she has spent only a short time on the college team, Jenna describes how much it feels like a family. Since the college is smaller in size, the players know each other intimately and often attend team dinners together. Jenna enjoys having fun at practices but assures that it’s not all fun and games. 

“We are going to have fun, but we need to be ready to work hard,” she says.  

Coach Matthews has been an influential part of the Jasper community his whole life. After playing tennis for Walker High School and then Birmingham-Southern College, he decided to return to Jasper High School to assist with coaching under his older brother, Christian Matthews, the head coach of the Vikings’ tennis program. As it turns out, helping coach the girls’ and boys’ teams at Jasper was not an easy task. Throughout the 2020-2021 season, Matthews was seen running from court to court, encouraging and uplifting players with words of advice. Many of the players benefitted directly from how much Matthews paid attention and cared; he supported, taught, and encouraged the players to be their best and play their best. 

Now, as Matthews has moved up to the next level, he continues to instill that same motivation and love for the sport of tennis into the Bears’ tennis program. 

“He wants the best for us,” remarked Brown. Players on Matthews’ first Bevill team come from far and wide. Reaching to Germany and back to Florida and Alabama, members of the team bring different cultures and backgrounds to the mix. Although the team is home to tennis players from all over, the beginnings of this team were spearheaded by hometown excellence. Featuring Jack Bowen, Mason Woodman, Luke Keeton, and Brown, homegrown merit thrives for the first iteration of the Bears program. 

Matthews has high goals for the team and strives to allow every child who wants to play to be able to play at the college level. Often, Bevill State Community College is praised in the halls of Jasper High School and students are reminded daily of the opportunities that lay ahead in college. 

Now that a tennis pipeline stretches between the two institutions located next door to one another, players can rejoice in the opportunity to continue their career from years to come. 78