LAPEL — At the end of his winning match during the Madison County Tennis Tournament semifinals at Pendleton Heights, Lapel senior and No. 1 singles player Jesse McCurdy went to a group of spectators who had watched him play.
He thanked each and every one of them for coming out to watch.
According to Lapel coach Justin Coomer, his gesture was commonplace.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“He does that for everyone who comes and watches,” Coomer said. “He’s very gracious in everything.”
McCurdy, 18, also works hard at being the best player he can be.
McCurdy has lost only one match this season and three others in his high school career.
Tennis isn’t McCurdy’s only sport in the fall, though. When not fulfilling his commitment to tennis, McCurdy spends time on the Lapel cross country team. He and partner Luke Combs won the Noblesville Hokum Karem.
A normal day for McCurdy is running before school and tennis practice after school.
“For me, it comes down to how much I love both teams. The atmospheres are so fun and unique in their own ways, and I love everyone on the teams,” McCurdy said.
He’s the lone senior on the tennis team.
“Something really unique about our team is how unified the entire team is. Freshmen are best friends with the senior and juniors. I love how the whole team are a bunch of best friends,” McCurdy said.
Tennis has long been his sport, but a few years ago he fell in love with running and decided to give it a go.
“Cross country is unique every day. You never know what long-distance guys will do, but it’s always a blast with them,” McCurdy said.
He is the leader of his tennis pack and takes the responsibility seriously by creating a climate of inclusion and encouragement.
Coomer said McCurdy is a natural leader.
“He doesn’t get down on himself, and that’s great leadership. He’ll treat the No. 18 player the same way he treats the No. 2 player. He’s the total package.”
His teammates have responded to McCurdy’s actions.
During the Madison County tennis finals, the deciding win came down to a three-hour match for doubles team Cam Gooding and Colin Vipperman.
When the two won, they said part of the reason they pushed themselves was for McCurdy.
“We wanted to win for Jesse. It’s his senior year, and we wanted him to have the title,” Vipperman said. The duo said McCurdy supports everyone with everything they do.
One more thing.
McCurdy is the co-valedictorian for his senior class.
He has become a master of time management.
“It is a virtue that I’m still cultivating each day.”
He said he’s developing a long-term mind-set of being able to choose what has an eternal impact.
“Loving others and investing in others is a big part of that, and tennis and cross country are two platforms where I can do that.”
“For as great a player he is, he’s an even better person,” Coomer said.
After graduation, McCurdy is hoping to attend Calvin University, a small private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He wants to study pre-med and Spanish and also play tennis there.
After attending a conference, McCurdy said he fell in love with pediatric oncology.
“The inherent nature of pediatric oncology leaves a lot of room for outreach and ministry within medicine to create relationships with patients through their journey with cancer.”
In addition, the study presents an opportunity to work with genetics, something McCurdy believes will allow him to utilize his talents and serve God in a “really cool way.”
McCurdy, whose father Ben McCurdy is a surgeon in Anderson, said he believes the field can create beautiful connections between loving others and studying medicine.
He wants his final year in high school to be special.
“I want to be present in every moment with my team on the court, with my teammates on the cross country course, but also supporting the Bulldogs and study well, and being present in each moment can create a lot of open doors that wouldn’t be there,” McCurdy said.
“Being present and loving others is my goal for this year.”