Forest girls tennis standout Madison Molock commits to Bethune Cookman University
Forest girls tennis player Madison Molock walked off court one at Coedhadjoe Park as a four-time doubles champ with partner Alexis Dessaint. As an individual, she’s won three consecutive Marion Athletic Conference titles.
Molock stands as the most decorated girls tennis player of her generation. She’s been a district champion, a junior United States Tennis Association standout and soon will be a collegiate tennis player for Bethune Cookman University.
“I’m a legacy to go there," Molock said. "My uncle went there, my dad went there and my aunt went there, so now I'll be going there. So excited. Coach (Chris) Wollet actually went to Forest back in his day. It was really cool to have that shared experience.”
Molock joins a rebuilding tennis program under Coach Wollet in his second year as head coach. Her bond with Wollet and her future teammates helped BCU retain her talent over the likes of Southern Georgia and Florida A&M University.
Molock leaves high school tennis considered a 3-star recruit, ranked 321st in the country by the Tennis Recruiting Network. UTR Sports considers her the top prospect in Marion County and one of five girls tennis players in the area with a seven or higher UTR score.
“I would say that my favorite experience was winning my sophomore year for districts," Molock said. "The atmosphere was just amazing. Some people were just from different schools cheering us on. For my overall tennis career, it would be when I won my l5 in Georgia. It was just really inspiring, and I was able to pull that one out, so it was great.”
Molock still has time to add to her stellar high school resume with state tournament berths in both singles and doubles matches. If she holds the gold at the end of the biggest match of the season, she will become the first Forest competitor to make it to the final stage of FHSAA tennis since Kelly Evans and Barbara Musleh in 1988.
That may be enough to supplant her favorite memories of her career as she creates new one like becoming the first Marion County girls golfers to join a Division 1 team since Belleview's DJ Bennett committed to Auburn University in 2022.
“I've been hurt almost every single year of high school tennis, and I'm just so happy to just be done with it, but just excited for my next adventures and everything for sure,” Molock said.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: 2-time Star Banner Tennis player of the year commits to Bethune Cookman University
