Page 17 - Alcorn Magazine - Spring, 2019

BRAVES SPORTS
“When I rst came to Alcorn, it was a token program. e courts were a rough gravel surface and the nets were cyclone fences,” Dodgen said. “Most of the players were locals and beginner level. e program played the minimum amount of matches to be Division I. Dr. Bri- stow immediately rebuilt the tennis courts upon my arrival, and we had very acceptable courts by my second year.”
Dodgen quickly turned the program around, and his men’s team won the SWAC in 1999, which was his third season. It was the rst of three consecutive men’s titles for Alcorn. Furthermore, the women’s team won back-to-back titles in 2000-01.
“At the time, Jackson State was dominating tennis and winning every year. After we beat them that rst year in 1999, they responded by building their 12-court complex with o ces, which is the same facil- ity that they still currently use. JSU’s facility today was a repercussion of us knocking them o in tennis for the rst time,” Dodgen said.
Dodgen’s recipe for winning was based around international recruit- ing. He greatly expanded his recruiting network to Australia, South America, and European countries.
“I can say that I have great relationships with student-athletes from all over the world”
“I raised the bar for the level of tennis in this conference. e other schools in this league had a hard time accepting that Alcorn was start- ing to win in tennis. It forced other schools to put more money into tennis and make it a stronger SWAC sport all around,” Dodgen said.
Alcorn tennis put together a great streak of championships beginning in 2007 with the men winning. Dodgen’s teams won ve champion- ships in six years, including four on the men’s side.
“We’ve had some great, great players here. A lot of our kids could have played at a ton of other Division I schools, and a lot of schools tried to poach our players,” Dodgen said.
Dodgen said his most memorable championship was won by the women in 2008. Led by a dominating Swetha Devaraj at number 1 singles, the Lady Braves snapped a four-year streak of falling in the nals and broke through with a ve-hour victory over Southern.
Dodgen’s nal championship came in 2016. e Lady Braves dropped the doubles point when they rallied in singles to win 4-2 over JSU.
“ e thing I will miss most is the continuous relationship between me and my players. I remember all of the tennis players to ever come through the program, and there’s still quite a few who I maintain con- tact with. I can say that I have great relationships with student-ath- letes from all over the world,” Dodgen said.
Prior to Alcorn, Dodgen spent seven years as both the head tennis coach and the director of mathematics at St. Aloysius High School. Dodgen’s teams won the State AA tennis championship all seven seasons.
Before St. Aloysius, Dodgen was the tennis coach at Chamber- lain-Hunt Academy in Port Gibson, Mississippi. He started out as a mathematics teacher before the school needed a tennis coach and he accepted the position.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into with tennis at Chamberlain. ey were looking for a tennis coach, and I had played after college, so I took the opportunity. I did it for 10 years, and it started my tennis career,” Dodgen said.
Dodgen played baseball at Wing eld High School in Jackson, Missis- sippi. He went on to graduate from Southern Miss with a bachelor’s in mathematics in 1984 and did not start playing tennis until he was 22 years old. Dodgen earned his master’s in education/mathematics from Mississippi College in 1994.
Dodgen’s last day at Alcorn is June 30. He said that upon retiring, he will move to Oxford, Mississippi, and spend more time shing, hunting and being with his family.
“When I look back at my career at Alcorn, I can say it has been tru- ly a professional-level learning experience. I’ve had to face adversity and numerous confrontations, and there have been so many along the way that wanted to see me fail,” Dodgen said. “ e journey has been enjoyable and rewarding. We won so many times by being the underdog and without the support that a Division I program should be supported (with). e fact that I made it through has made me ex- tremely con dent and proud with myself. It’s been a career of working miracles.”
Coaches with the Most SWAC Championships Won in Alcorn History 1. Davey L. Whitney, 18
2. Shirley Walker, 17
3. Anthony Dodgen, 12
4. Marino Casem, 7 5. Robert Hopkins, 5
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