As an eighth-grader and a freshman, Lamar’s Ava Durgin twice made it to the state championship match in the MAIS Class AAAA, Division II tournament. Twice, she fell short of a title.

The third time was the charm for Durgin, who competes in girls singles. She won her championship match in straight sets to help the Lamar girls tennis team to an MAIS Class AAAA, Division II state title.

“It was big,” Northwood Country Club tennis pro Anthony Hiatt said. “She was the No. 1 seed and the favorite, but it was a relief to her because she had made the finals those two previous years and lost.”

Durgin is ranked No. 15 in Mississippi by the USTA in the Girls 16 division. She recently competed in the Country Club of Birmingham (Alabama) Junior Invitational, where she also won all three matches in straight sets after a bye in the round of 16. Because of her accomplishments, Durgin has been named the Premier Preps Female Tennis Player of the Year for the second straight year.

“It’s nice,” Durgin said of the recognition.

When she entered her state championship match, Durgin said she was fueled by the second-place finishes the previous two seasons and wanted to leave no doubt this time around.

“I really wanted to win in straight sets, because (otherwise) you have to play a third full set, and that’s awful,” Durgin said. “It was a good feeling.”

Durgin said she’s improved the most on her backhand and serves in a year’s time, and her serves has come an especially long way.

“I still need to work on it, but it’s gotten a lot better from where it was,” Durgin said.

At least 7 1/2 hours a week goes into practicing tennis, but Durgin said the sport never feels like a job.

“If it’s raining, I would want to be out here (on the courts) anyway,” she said. “I would be bored for those 7 1/2 hours a week if I wasn’t doing this.”

Her competitive nature is what makes tennis so fun, Durgin said, but she’s also grateful for the friends she’s made since she started playing.

“You meet people you wouldn’t normally know,” Durgin said. “I wouldn’t know Will (McCarty) since he’s homeschooled, and I’ve also gotten to know everyone else (who plays at Northwood) well.”

While she’s only a sophomore, Durgin said she’s already thinking ahead to playing tennis in college.

“I just don’t want to stop playing, because if I didn’t play in college I wouldn’t play for four years, and I don’t want to just drop it,” Durgin said.