NATCHEZ — Trinity Episcopal senior Madeline Iles knew things were coming to an end as she wrapped up her South State semi-final match on the wrong end of a 2-6, 4-6 score.

“It was real disappointing,” Iles said. “It was my last Trinity athletic event. I have grown up here, and I am attached to this school. It’s senior year, and I wanted to make it far. But I have never played anybody like that girl.”

The loss marked the end of a decorated four-year tennis career that saw Iles take home a South State title and finish as state runner-up her junior season. But before that, Iles had to go from a young ninth-grade player and learn from the upperclassmen to the top player in MAIS District 5-AA.

“Making it to state last year (was the best moment),” she said. “It was fun to make it that far, and I lost a very close match.”

Iles, 18, said what drew her to tennis at Trinity was the opportunity to play a sport that she had enjoyed since taking lessons as a child.

“I really like tennis,” she said. “It’s laid back. You can still have fun, and it’s just as serious as you want it to be.”

Iles said the better she became the more serious she took the competition.

“Ninth-grade was when I first started wanting to be serious about what I do, but I didn’t think it was going to be that far,” she said about winning South State.

Iles started as a doubles player as a freshman but developed into Trinity’s top singles player by her junior season.

“I’d say I improved a good bit,” she said. “In ninth grade I had barely played since my lessons (when I was little). In ninth and 10th grade I played on doubles teams with older girls and that made me want to be better.”

Iles said she played basketball early in her Trinity career, but the sport she will miss more than tennis and basketball is cheerleading.

“That’s my favorite thing,” she said. “The last football game was really sad. I like to support the school, and I always really like it because the bonds you make with the squad.”

Iles was the captain of the Saints’ cheerleading squad this season.

Iles said she will hang up her pom poms and tennis racket next fall to focus on academics at Milsaps College. She said she plans to try to play intramural tennis, and she is glad she picked a sport that she will be able to play for many years.

“(Tennis) is not just going to be over. It’s something you can play your whole life,” she said.