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Oxford’s Charlie Fruge plays in the MHSAA Individual Division Tournament in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

Oxford’s Owen Wilkinson plays in the MHSAA Individual Division Tournament in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

Oxford’s Bel Monteith plays in the MHSAA Individual Division Tournament in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

MHSAA Individual Division Tournament in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

Oxford’s Mary Margaret Shipman plays in the MHSAA Individual Division Tournament in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

MHSAA Individual Division Tournament in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

MHSAA Individual Division Tournament in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

It’s hard to encapsulate just how successful Oxford Tennis has been over the last two decades.

As I sat at my desk searching for the words to describe their 18-year run of dominance I toyed with a variety of extravagant adjectives.

I described the run as transcendent, resplendent and awe-inspiring. I compared them to iconic dynasties like the Russell-era Celtics, the 1920s Yankees and the John Wooden-coached UCLA teams of the 1960s and ’70s.

But then it dawned on me that the easiest way to convey just how long the Chargers have ruled their region was to point out that most of the current team was not even alive the last time Oxford failed to win a district title.

The Chargers won their 18th consecutive team title this season, extending a streak that started the same year that Daniel Powter had a bad day and T-Pain declared he was “n luv wit” a certain woman of the night.

They continued their dominance in the Region 1-6A individual tournament on Tuesday, where they claimed three region titles and qualified a total of eight athletes for the state tournament later this month.

Senior Rowan Devera and sophomore Owen Wilkinson came away with region championships after finishing atop the boys’ and girls’ singles brackets, while freshman Andrew Koestler and eighth-grader Hayes Huggins won the region championship in boys’ doubles.

The Chargers also had two more sets of doubles players qualify as junior Mary Margaret Shipman and senior Bel Montieth made the region final in girls’ doubles before falling to Tupelo, while senior Charlie Frugé and sophomore Crawford Shows also punched their ticket by making the region final in mixed doubles.

Oxford hits the road to take on Hernando in the third round of the team playoffs Wednesday before turning their attention to the state individual tournament later this month.

Correction: Andrew Koestler was incorrectly identified as a junior in an earlier version of this article.

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