Hurricanes' McCormick outplays size

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- It's real easy to look past Nick McCormick on a tennis court -- all 5 feet, 2 inches of him. He has faced 16 opponents this year, and quite possibly some of those made that mistake.

The East Hamilton freshman has been setting the standard this season for the Hurricanes, becoming their first-ever region champion in tennis, then topping that feat by winning his state quarterfinal match Thursday against Milan's Clint Bradley.

Bradley came into the match with a big serve, but the highly skilled McCormick wore him down with his all-around game and defeated the senior 6-0, 6-1.

"I think a lot of people probably think they'll go into the match and just beat me," he said. "They think they can overpower me."

Added Nick's father, Tom: "Nick's not going to be intimidated. He's been playing against bigger kids all his life, and he's played against his older brother."

McCormick, who lost his state semifinal match, has a noticeable bounce in his step when on the court -- almost what could be considered "swagger."

"I don't think he got that from me," Tom said jokingly.

"I really don't notice it," Nick said. "I just try to stay confident while I'm on the court."

He also ran cross country and track, qualifying for state in cross country, but he was unable to run in the Region 3-A/AA track meet due to a conflict in schedules.

"It was the same day as our region (tennis) tournament," he said. "I knew I would have a better chance in tennis, so I stuck with it."

McCormick lost a total of seven games on his way to the region title, which surpassed his preseason goals -- sort of.

"I wanted to make it to the region tournament in tennis and not lose any matches," he said. "Then I wanted to play my brother Zack for the region title."

The season didn't end quite as well as the younger McCormick might have hoped, but that didn't deter his hopes and expectations for years to come.

"I didn't think I could make it to state in tennis, but I did," he said. "I know I can make it further next year."

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