2009

(tennis) one day and decided to jump the net," McPhail said. "But to our horror, her foot got hung in the net, and'she fell and hurt her head. We were all scared to death that she had really hurt herself. She had a 'bump' for quite a while, which served as a reminder to all us not to try that trick!" Another "highlight" was probably more of an embar– rassment for McPhail. "We were playing tennis at Perkinston. My dad was in the VAhospital, so I was a little strung out the whole semester," she said. "And to make matters worse, I left my tennis shoes at home! My memory is that I played barefooted...but coach Wood's memory is that I had to borrow tennis shoes from a Gulf Coast player. But regardless, I never forgot my tennis shoes again or any other piece of equipment!" McPhail's passion also included playing basketball for ECCC and being a member of coachWood's 1969-70 and 1970-71 squads. McPhail was actually plan– ning to attend MUWand play basketball...but credits the late Denver Brackeen (former EC coach/admini&– trator) for "encouraging me to play basketball for EC]C." She never regretted the decision.

But success is nothing new for McPhail, who took over the MCC program in 2000 and also serves as an English instructor. Her women's team record is 140-41. In addition to winning the 2009 Region 23 title, her squads posted regional and MACJC (Mis– sissippi Association of Com– munity and Junior Colleges) State championships from 2003-2006 and were regional and state runners– ups in 2004 and 2005. Her lady Eagles advanced to the NJCAA National Tour– nament during the 2002 to 2009 campaigns and were nationally ranked each season. 1hree of her players were named Intercollegiate TennisAssociation All– Americans and eightwere selected NJCAAAcademic All-Americans. The men's record is even more impressive at 145-33. In addition to winning the Region 23 title in 2009, the Eagles captured region championships in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008, and were MACJC State Champions in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008. The MCC men were region and state runners-up in 2003 and 2006, and advanced to the NJCAA National Tourna– ment from 2002 to 2008. Theywere also nationally ranked during that time period. In addition, six Eagles were chosen ITA

can't recall if I had every really seen a tennis racket! But coachWood told me that I was going to play tennis, so I did. I became SO passionate about tennis that I would sometimes practice from noon to 'dark thirty' during the spring seme.ster. I never dreamed that tennis would turn out to be so important in my life or bring so much success." McPhail said the "high– light" of her tennis experi– ence at EC came during her sophomore year when she and doubles partner Lucy Young (also an ECCCAth– letic Hall of Fame member were runners-up in the stat tournament Young's first experience at tennis was also when coachWood "recruited" her for the squad! She also recalled a few other "highlights" related to the sport •·our manager, Susan Shoemaker, was playing

"Wanda has played a major role in promoting tennis in high schools, com– munity and junior colleges inMississippi, Region 23 and throughout the nation," saidWood. "She has received several "Coach of the Year" honor and numerous national awards. Wanda demonstrated her excellence in coaching by taking more teams to national tournaments and receiving more national rankings than any other coach among her col– leagues." In addition to McPhail's 2008 tennis squads earning regional titles, the men's team was also recognized as the sports' NJCAAAcad– emicTeam of the Year for achieving a 3.69 grade point average. In 2009, two players- one from each team -were chosen to receive the ArthurAshe National Sportsmanship Award.