McPhail Enjoys MAC Honor

By Marty Stamper
Meridian Star
July 5, 2006

Wanda McPhail, Meridian Community College men’s and women’s head tennis coach, has been named one of the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) Community College Coaches of the Year.

Along with four other community college coaches, McPhail will be honored Friday night in Jackson at 7 p.m. at the MAC Coaches Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet at the Hilton hotel.

“It’s wonderful to be remembered and honored by your peers and I’m certainly excited to do that,” said McPhail, a native of Union.

“It’s the second time I’ve received it since I’ve been at MCC.”

“I owe a lot of the success I’ve had to the role models I’ve had. (Former Union girls’ basketball) Coach T.L. Gregory was a huge influence in my life. On top of what it took to be a winner, he taught us to have a tremendous work ethic and never give up. He was a tremendous influence on all the girls.”

“As far as tennis, I owe a great deal to Lucille Wood at East Central Community College. She put a tennis racket in my hand. I never dreamed she was putting something in my hand that I would end up loving as much as I loved basketball and would eventually lead to something that I would make my living at.”

“She taught me a love for the game and introduced me to the game. It’s something that I love passionately.”

McPhail recently completed her sixth year at MCC. This past spring, she led the MCC women’s team to a fifth straight appearance in the NJCAA national championship tournament. Her women’s squad also captured yet another MACJC State/Region 23 championship.

“We’ve won the girl’s state/region tournament four of the last five years,” McPhail said.

In addition to McPhails upcoming MAC coaching honor, she was also named both the Mississippi Association Community/Junior Colleges and region 23 Coach of the Year.

The Lady Eagle tennis team finished 14th in the final NJCAA rankings.

McPhail led the MCC men’s team to a fifth straight trip to the NJCAA national championship tournament. The men’s squad finished 19th in the final NJCAA rankings.

“The guys have won the state/region tournament three of the last five years,” McPhail said.

“This year we were the runner-up.”

“The bottom line is I have tremendous support from the administration for the tennis program. They allow us the freedom to go out and recruit good players and I’ve been able to do that. To me, that’s the key to the success of the program.”

“It’s easy to go out and find a good No. 1 and No. 2 player, but that doesn’t do you much good unless you can have some depth as well and I’ve been able to get the players that could play throughout the lineup. That’s really the key to it.”

“The players come in and work really hard year-round. We’re well-conditioned. It’s not always the fun part of it, but it’s a very important part.”

“I believe I have a ministry as well as a job. God has blessed me in this endeavor as much as in anything else in life. I truly believe that God has placed me where I am and has blessed me with the players that I’ve had and allowed me to be successful here.”

Prior to coming to MCC, McPhail coached at West Lauderdale for nine years.