SUPER SENIOR: Matt Hamilton—Tennis Leader with Love for Journalism

senior Matthew Hamilton has been on the varsity tennis team since he was a freshman. The captain holds the number one spot in single matches this year.

Hamilton balances sports, the student government executive board, the French club and the French National Honor Society with ease, playing tennis in the spring and soccer in the fall, but he said academics are his top priority—almost.

“Homework comes before anything else, except tennis,” Hamilton said.

Head varsity coach Richard Jones said Hamilton's teammates respond to his leadership.

“What’s really unique about him is that he is a true leader on the team,” Jones said. “He is capable of getting the team to do things. He motivates the team. He is the epitome of what I can honestly say is a leader.”

With an undefeated squad this year, Jones knows that Hamilton plays a big part in the Cougars' success.

“I have never had this feeling of friendliness or sense of camaraderie [before]. I think it’s because of him. No one is excluded. He watches out for everyone,” Jones said.

“There [are] no negative attitudes on the team,” Hamilton added. “All of us are friends so it’s very easy for us to get along. If there’s times where I have to tell them what to do, they listen, so we have good relationships.”

The team bonds on the bus rides home from matches.  

“One unique thing—when we get on the bus, they sing,” Jones said. "They sing all the way back from a match. It’s the funniest damn thing you ever want to see.”

Hamilton also strives for personal success.

“What makes him so successful is that he doesn’t give up,” Jones said. “His success is that he plays the first point just like the last point of a match.”

Hamilton will attend Towson University in the fall and said playing club or intramural tennis is a possibility, but he plans to focus more on his passion—journalism. Writing for The Print, Fallston’s school newspaper, and doing the morning video announcements have inspired him to dream big.

“My dream will probably be The Sun since I’m a Baltimore-raised boy,” he said.

Hamilton plans to major in mass communications at Towson and hopes to write for The Towerlight.