Elise Sickle will play college tennis at North Alabama.

JACKSON – Elise Sickle was joined by her parents, David and Janice, and about 40 friends from FAITH Home School Tutorial at West Jackson Baptist Church to celebrate a significant moment.

Sickle, who won the Muse Cup – Jackson’s city female tournament championship – last summer, signed a scholarship to play tennis at the University of North Alabama. Local tennis greats Ted Measley, who coaches the teams at University School of Jackson and instructs many players in the city, and Fran Chandler, who’s won numerous tennis tournaments in different continents, were also present for the occasion.

While the accomplishment was significant by itself, that significance was magnified as Sickle is one of very few athletes from the area to go on to play college athletics without having played high school sports in the more traditional sense of the term.

“We’ve been home schooled growing up, but I’ve always loved tennis,” said Sickle, who’s taken dual enrollment classes at Union University and Jackson State Community Colleges the last two years to get a head start on college.

She first started playing at 6 years old and got into competitive tournaments when she was 10. Since then, she’s tried to play between 12 and 24 junior United State Tennis Association tournaments each year throughout the South, traveling as far as Atlanta or Columbus, Ga.

She’s been ranked as high as No. 4 in the state in the junior USTA circuit.

But that still didn’t get her attention from college scouts and coaches.

“I had to make a highlight video of myself to show them what I can do, and I sent it out to coaches and invited them to come see me play in tournaments,” Sickle said.

The coaching staff at North Alabama liked what they saw and offered her a scholarship.

FAITH Home School Tutorial is a local education organization that provides weekly tutoring for home school children who need it in certain subjects. Ramona Mitchell is the director of the group.

“Elise is the first athlete we’ve had that’s been able to sign an athletic scholarship, so we’re obviously thrilled for her and the opportunity she has now,” Mitchell said. “She’s a wonderful student and very talented, and we pray she’ll continue to do well both academically and athletically at North Alabama.”

Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com or at 425-9751. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at jacksonsunsports.