Clint Watson, center, recently became the first Wallace State men’s tennis recruit to sign a letter of intent. Watson was a premier tennis player at Cullman, winning a state title as early as eighth grade. He is joined by his parents Art, far left, and Fran Watson.
HANCEVILLE – Clint Watson is the first Wallace State men’s tennis signee in the program’s new era.
Watson, a 2014 Cullman High School graduate, signed a letter of intent recently to play for the Lions beginning in the fall 2016 season.
Wallace State is reintroducing its men’s and women’s tennis programs this fall after they were discontinued in 2004.
“I’m super excited to be the first one to sign, and I’m just glad I can continue to play tennis. I took a year off from it and really missed it. I think this opportunity presented itself at the right time. I came to Wallace State as a student not knowing a tennis team would be started. It all just fell into place,” said the 6-foot-4 Watson. “It’s truly an honor to be the first one on board.”
Watson carved out a stellar high school tennis career with the Bearcats, finishing as a three-time state champion and compiling a 141-29 record. He became a force on the courts as early as eighth grade, when he won a Class 5A individual state championship as the Bearcats No. 4 singles player in 2010. He also won a pair of state titles in doubles action throughout his career.
Watson, who plans to major in education, didn’t pursue a collegiate tennis career after graduating from Cullman and spent one year at UNA before enrolling at Wallace State.
Before the Wallace State tennis programs were discontinued, they accounted for four of the seven NJCAA national titles earned by the college. The men’s program won NJCAA Division II titles in 1995 and 1996 and the women in 1995 and 1999.
Watson is proud to be joining the rich athletics tradition at Wallace State.
“Paul (Creech) has been explaining to me how successful the tennis program was before. They always competed for championships,” Watson said. “I’m proud to be part of the process to get Wallace State tennis back to where it once was.”
Creech is serving as Wallace State’s tennis recruiter. For more information about the programs, contact Creech at 256-352-8370 or paul.creech@wallacestate.edu.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit http://athletics.wallacestate.edu/.
