How one of Louisiana's smallest schools produced one of the state's top tennis players

Jon Nguyen is one of the best high school tennis players in Louisiana.

He's ranked fourth in the state among all boys 16 years of age or younger. He's ranked 14th when expanded to 18 or younger. He has a Universal Tennis Rating of 7.8 — a rating comparable to most college players and even some professionals — and he competes in United States Tennis Association tournaments across the country. To top it all off, he's a two-time high school state champion.

But fans won't be able to see him defend his titles in Monroe at the LHSAA championships in late April, because Nguyen's school, Messiah Montessori School in Houma, doesn't compete in the LHSAA. Instead, MMS competes in the ACEL.

The ACEL — short for the Association of Christian Educators of Louisiana — is a sanctioning body allowing small, primarily religious schools and homeschooled student-athletes to compete in organized high school sports. While there are sports sponsored by both the LHSAA and ACEL, some — such as eight-man football and boys volleyball — are ACEL-only sports while others — like 11-man football and wrestling — are only offered by the LHSAA.

Others still are offered by both, but are played under different rules between the two. A tennis player in the ACEL needs to only win four games to win a set, while in the LHSAA, he or she needs to win six. Messiah Montessori tried to join the LHSAA, but the school is just too small, with fewer than 200 total students attending this school year.

More High School Sports: With dad at his side, Covenant Christian soccer's Connor Bascle signs to play in college

"We did want to sign up for a higher division, like most schools in our area," Nguyen said. "But we didn't meet the requirements. So, we play these smaller schools."

Still, despite his small school, Nguyen built up a reputation among his friends within the Houma-Thibodaux tennis community as one of the area's top talents.

"I play with a few people who are in those bigger divisions from other schools," Nguyen said. "Sometimes, I even travel with them to New Orleans or Lafayette or Baton Rouge to play in high-level tournaments. It's a more competitive environment, but I play in the area a lot with them."

Nguyen started attending MMS in kindergarten, around the same time he first picked up a tennis racket. He had a cousin already attending the school, which influenced his mother, Jody, into sending her son there.

"When Jon was getting ready for kindergarten, I started looking at different schools," Jody said. "I had a nephew who was in Messiah Montessori already. So, I sent Jon there. Even from kindergarten, he really, really loved it. There hasn't been even one day where he said he didn't want to go to school."

As Jon grew up, he began taking the sport more seriously. By the time he reached middle school, he discovered his true talent for tennis.

"I didn't start realizing I could play this good until I was maybe 12 years old," Jon said. "That's when I really started playing in tournaments."

Jon has improved with age, but for a time, it looked like he needed to leave MMS to continue his tennis career. Jody said she was looking at other schools a few years ago, but at around the same time, the ACEL finally took the first steps towards sponsoring tennis as a varsity sport.

More High School Sports: Luke Ford Jr. All-Star Games give final send-off to Houma and Thibodaux-area hoops stars

The ACEL added tennis as a sport in development in the 2021-22 school year, which allowed its schools to build a varsity team in preparation for next season. There was still an invitational tournament sponsored by the ACEL, which was, unsurprisingly, won by Jon.

Since tennis was added as a varsity sport in '22-23, Jon has won both individual titles and has led his team to the state finals in both years, winning a championship as a team in 2023.

Last season, Jon won his quarterfinal match in straight sets, 4-0 and 4-0, and repeated that in the semifinals. In the finals, Jon dropped a game — twice — but still cruised to a 4-1 and 4-1 championship victory in the ACEL's inaugural tennis tournament. This year was just as impressive, at least from an individual standpoint. Jon again swept the qualifying tournaments in Lafayette and Lake Charles without dropping a set, and repeated as state champion last weekend in Alexandria, again in straight sets.

For Jon, the size of his school or the division in which he plays doesn't matter. Tennis is still tennis, and representing his school is what really matters to him.

"When I started playing at first, it was really individual," said Jon. "But playing for my team, and for my school, it means so much more to me. It's a completely new atmosphere."

This article originally appeared on The Courier: How one of Louisiana's smallest schools produced a top tennis player