(KMAland) — One of the area’s top tennis players will continue playing at the next level.

Abraham Lincoln senior Chris Wailes recently announced a commitment to play tennis with Morningside.

“I just kind of thought it was a great place,” Wailes said. “The atmosphere they have there, especially in the tennis program, is really solid. There’s lots of good people with a good amount of foreign players. Just lots of different styles of play and cultures.”

The reigning KMAland Boys Tennis Player of the Year, Wailes won the Missouri River Conference singles championship and was the Council Bluffs city champion this past season.

“The tennis team (stood out),” Wailes added. “It’s a great place, and the professors and stuff are pretty good, too. There were a couple of schools in the mix, but I think Morningside was the perfect pick and the right place for me.”

Wailes has been playing tennis since he was very young, but he says his passion for the sport didn’t really start to pick up until he entered high school.

“That’s when you’re playing lots of matches and getting to meet lots of people,” Wailes said. “(Morningside) has a really solid team this year and is going to have a solid team for the next three or four years. I would probably start at JV for sure. They have a lot of talent on their team right now, and hopefully I can keep working and make my way up the ladder.”

Listen to much more with Wailes on his college decision in the audio file below.