The Bearcat and Lady Cats tennis team capped off a great season with an awards banquet at the Bainbridge Country Club last Tuesday.

Tennis Coach Amy Thomas began by comparing the team to the heroes in the most recent Avengers movie, however Thomas said watching her team was still more fun.

“The closest thing I’ve seen to a bunch of superheroes was watching you guys on the courts this season,” she began.

She questioned what makes her team superheroes, and said some of them have super talent, super determination, super grit and some just refuse to lose.

“You  have a super factor I just can’t put my finger on, but it’s fun to watch,” she announced.

She also thought about courage when it comes to superheroes. When courage came to mind, Thomas said she remembered the last away match at Riverwood, when Mikey Harrell was cramping up, but played through the pain.

“She was literally on her last leg, but she never gave up,” Thomas said.

Thomas also addressed the boys, telling them it took courage to go into the Region tournament ranked number three, but take down every opponent one by one.

Thomas said she knows how much everyone sacrificed to be on the team. She knows they could’ve had after school jobs or hung out with friends, but instead they were on the tennis courts, giving it their all.

She continued to commend their good character and strong moral code that superheroes often have.

“One thing we have that other teams don’t is a culture of family,” she said. “We care about each other and our community; I’ll put up our character against any team in Georgia and I know we will win state.”

Thomas told the team they were an inspiration to the middle schoolers, who were ready to be out on the Bearcat courts.

“Everyone in the school was behind you this year,” she said. “You were an inspiration to the community and the school.”

Lastly, Thomas said superheroes have flaws. There is always work to be done and a way to improve.

Following her speech, Thomas gave each player a superhero mask before giving out the awards for the season.

Sydnee Burke was presented with the Bainbridge Tennis Association Scholarship and also won MVP for the girls.

Blake Lowe was presented with the Coach’s Award that was voted on by the coaches and Austin Aldridge and Mikey Harrell won Player of the Year, which was voted on by their teammates.

Robert Bryan Shockley won MVP for the boys, Ben Mitchell won Scholar Athlete and Brent Miller won Rookie of the Year.

Bree Powell and Jade Stacey took home the Dynamic Duo Award for their double’s season.