Sherwood Christian wins state again, Moorhead brothers battle for the title

ROME, Ga. – Sherwood Christian Academy brothers Will Moorhead and Sam Moorhead ended up in the state tennis championship against each other Tuesday in Rome and older brother Will beat the younger Sam 6-2, 6-0 to claim his third consecutive individual title. At the same time, the Sherwood boy’s team claimed their third consecutive state team championship.

“It’s a great feeling, it was hard at first and I really had to focus,” Will said as the team rolled into Albany on the trip back from Rome. “Playing against my brother was special. He’s been in the tournament before but didn’t make it to the finals until this year.”

“Winning the state championship is great as an individual because you bring it back for the school,” Will continued. “It means more than just winning the competitive tournaments. But even more important is the team championship. Being with my friends. my coaches and my brother, it means more. This is the third time as a team and it’s really special.”

Amanda Moorhead, Will and Sam’s mother, is also the tennis coach at Sherwood Christian.

“We did it for the third year in a row,” she said. “I took over the tennis team this year so there were already two in a row, but today we made it three.”

As a mother and a coach, watching your two sons compete for a state title puts one in a rare position.

“It was very special,” Coach and Mom Moorhead said. “The learning curve this season as a first-time head coach was steep but I had a lot of people praying for my success. I had two of the best helpers in Will and Sam, specifically. Walking alongside them throughout tennis and high school has been rewarding. I’m just so thankful that I get to wake up and do it with them. God’s pretty great in that way,” she added. She also credited assistant coach Wes Sadler for being instrumental in the team’s success.

Will and Sam battled each other for the region championship in Macon last week and practice against each other regularly. They have been playing competitive tennis for more than 10 years. Will is currently at junior at Sherwood Christian and his younger brother Sam is a freshman. They will have new opportunities and new competition next year.

“We are looking forward to the move to the GIAA,” said Amanda. “It should be more competitive and I think our team will be ready for that.”

By John MoorheadBy John Moorhead

By John Moorhead