There were a lot of 'firsts' for Wyatt Morris as he signed his national letter of intent to play tennis at Brewton Parker College Thursday afternoon in Southeast Bulloch High School’s media center.
    In front of a supportive crowd of friends, family and SEB faculty members, Morris became the first male tennis player in school history to sign a national letter of intent to play at the collegiate level.
    Morris also became the first tennis player in 15 years to sign a scholarship at Brewton Parker College.
    “It’s a great feeling to be number one in a lot of things. It’s a little scary,” Morris said. “It feels great knowing that hard work pays off. That’s all it takes. Hard work, sacrifice and dedication to get where you want to be and that’s all I’ve been doing for the past five years.”
    In his time at SEB, Morris maintained a winning record and finished 9-2 overall this season.
    Morris advanced to the sweet 16 his sophomore year.
    Farrah Senn, head men’s and women’s tennis coach at BPC, said she was more than happy to extend a scholarship offer to Morris.
    The Barons could potentially use Morris in both doubles and singles competition at the college level, Senn said.
    “We looked for athletic ability, academic ability and the person as a whole,” Senn said. “I was very impressed with Wyatt and his ability. He’s clearly a leader. What really put him over the top was his attitude and his academics.”
    Brewton Parker College recently reestablished the school’s tennis team for both men and women and will start competition in the NAIA and SSAC divisions in the fall. In order to revamp the team’s roster, the Barons held open tryouts on campus. At first, Morris said he wasn’t interested in participating due to a tough loss in the region competition his senior year, but some convincing from his mother swayed his decision.
    During the tryout, the Barons’ staff evaluated players based on their attitude, GPA, and recommendations. 
    “I think he’s definitely going to be one of the leaders of the team,” said a noticeably excited Senn. “He’s the very first one to sign for our tennis program in 15 years. He was one of the first ones that we extended an offer to.”

    Horace Holloman may be reached at (912) 489-9408.