A year ago, Carrie Wood and Walker Moore were one game away from winning the MAIS Class 5A mixed doubles tennis championship and let it slip through their fingers.

They weren’t about to let that happen again.

The St. Aloysius duo blasted their competition this time, winning both of their matches in straight sets to win the mixed doubles state title at the Class 5A tournament April 24 in Ridgeland.

“I was shaking the entire time,” Wood said. “Once we had that last point and then we finally got it, it was like, ‘I can’t believe we just did that.”

For Wood, a senior, it was especially satisfying. This was her fourth state tournament appearance and the first time she’s won. She played twice in girls doubles and twice in mixed doubles and reached the championship match three times.

Wood and Moore won the first set in the 2024 mixed doubles final, then lost the next two — including a 7-5 decision in the third and final set.

“It feels pretty awesome. Especially since I’ve been to the state championship for four years and it’s my senior year. And the one year I did get the title it’s my senior year,” Wood said.

Moore, a sophomore, was already making his third state tournament appearance. In addition to the two mixed doubles runs with Wood, he played in the No. 2 boys singles tournament as an eighth-grader.

He was happy to get over the hump and finally win a state championship.

“It’s a really big relief to finally do it,” Moore said.

The 2024 state championship match was the only one that Wood and Moore lost in two seasons as a mixed doubles team. In this year’s state tournament they barely even lost a game.

Wood and Moore beat a team from Heritage Academy 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals, and then another from Pillow Academy 6-2, 6-1 in the championship match.

“It’s like setting the standard. Since we got that (first match) out of the way and we were already super excited and adrenaline was going, we just felt good going into the finals,” Wood said. “Very, very locked in. I was kind of nervous. But we both pushed through and did whatever we had to do to be able to claim this title.”

Although they didn’t play every match this season as a mixed doubles team, Moore said playing together with Wood in a number of big matches over the past two years helped when it mattered most.

“I think it helped a lot playing important matches. We had that experience,” he said.

With a doubles state championship under his belt, Moore will likely move back into singles competition next season. Wood’s high school career is over, and she said she couldn’t think of a better way to end it.

“It’s a really special way to end my senior year and my senior season,” she said. “I’ve been playing for almost 10 years now, and just having this at the end is really special for me.”