JACKSON – Jerrod Rayborn, an eighth grade student at BrookhavenAcademy, has been selected to represent Mississippi in competitionfor the Southern Tennis Association Junior Davis Cup. Rayborn isone of the top three tennis players in the state on the boys 14sTeam Mississippi.

The Mississippi squad will face the top teams from Georgia,North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama,Louisiana and Arkansas to earn a spot in the National competition.The regional tournament will be held at various sites Sept. 20-23,in Chattanooga, Tenn.

As a sixth grader in 2000, Rayborn was the Mississippi PrivateSchool Association’s Class AA High School No. 2 singles champion.As a seventh grader this past season, Rayborn played the No. 1singles position at BA and was the runner-up in the statechampionship match.

David Misner of Brookhaven and Robert Russell of Jackson coachRayborn. He is the son of Mitch and Rhonda Rayborn ofBrookhaven.

Tennis is a family event for the Rayborns. They spend 20weekends a year devoted to tennis. Jerrod’s favorite practiceworkout is against the Mississippi 4.0 State Men’s ChampionshipTeam from Brookhaven. Coach Dennis Sims from Co-Lin and Tom Monroehave been very supportive of Jerrod’s quest to become a top-rankedtennis player. He is the grandson of Jerry and Shirley Nations ofBrookhaven and Madeline Rayborn of Monticello.

Former U.S. David Cup coach John McEnroe and current coachPatrick McEnroe have sparked renewed interest in international teamcompetition similar to the Olympic games. Patriotic cheers andactive, often boisterous audience participation arecommonplace.

The competition between states of the Junior Davis Cup haslikewise increased. Players who ordinarily compete against oneanother set aside their individual interests for the benefit of thestate team.

Rayborn’s fellow team members in 14s include Ryan Furlow ofMadison and William Thames of Laurel.