NATCHEZ — Last week Cathedral School rising freshman Madeline Beard’s team won gold in the U.S. Zonals Tennis Championship in Huntsville, Ala.

Beard, was on one of five southern teams in the tournament.

In addition to her team, there were four teams from Texas, two from the Pacific Northwest and one team from the Caribbean.

“I’m glad I did it because I got to have a lot of fun and meet a lot of really great people,” Beard said. “It was a really good experience.”

Beard’s team, which was comprised of players from Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia, actually defeated another southern team to win gold.

Individually, Beard played in five doubles and five singles matches, winning one of each.

“I competed with everybody,” Beard said. “Everybody you played was going to be a good player. It made me better playing against better players.”

Beard’s summer tennis tournaments are far from over.

She is scheduled to play in a tennis tournament next week in New Orleans before participating in a Bullfrog tournament in Baton Rouge in late August.

Although she always seems to be on the go, Beard said she relishes the tournaments she plays in.

“I love it,” Beard said. “The competition is so fun for me.”