Cullman No. 1 Olivia Sharpton returns a backhand during Monday's home match against West Point.

Leave it to soft-spoken Olivia Sharpton to make a racket in the Cullman High library.

The senior standout and last remaining member of the Lady Bearcats’ 2011 state championship tennis squad cemented her choice to follow in her big sister’s footsteps Wednesday morning, signing a national letter of intent with nearby Snead State.

Sharpton was surrounded by family, a teammate, administrators, and past, current and future coaches as she penned the papers to officially become a Parson.

“It’s exciting,” the young lady of the hour said. “All the hard work is paying off.”

Sharpton, Cullman’s No. 1 for the past two years and a varsity contributor since the eighth grade, picked Snead State because she likes the people and heard glowing reviews from her older sibling, Katie. Including Katie’s twin, Natalie, all three Sharpton girls roamed the court for the Lady Bearcats in 2011, an absolute dream for their parents, Nancy and Jamie.

Sharpton’s favorite high school memory — so far — was teaming up with Bailey Baker for the state No. 2 doubles title in 2013. The duo dropped the first set in the semis and second set in the finals but stayed calm and collected in each instance to claim the coveted crown.

Sharpton said she’s made many lifelong friendships while with Cullman and would like to make a few more memories before bidding farewell, starting with securing a sectional title and some additional hardware at this year’s state tournament.

First-year Black and Gold coach Jerry Mason — Cory Goble is the team’s faculty rep — doesn’t doubt the varsity veteran can achieve both goals.

“She’s a quiet girl, but she leads by example,” he said. “The other girls look to her, and she’s doing a great job. She’s very coachable, very personable. I just really can’t describe how much a pleasure it is to be her coach.

“She’s going to do well at Snead, because if there’s one thing she’ll do, she’ll work.”

Snead State coach Matt Holaday has put together quite the recruiting class in his second year on campus. He’s nabbed a few girls from Arab and the No. 1s from Hartselle and Albertville.

And then there’s Sharpton, who he views as the best of the bunch.

“Of all the kids we’ve signed, she’s probably, right now, seems to be the best player,” Holaday said. “We’re just real blessed to have her sign and come play for us. Just exactly the kind of kid and family we want to be a part of our program.”

What the fun-loving leader loved most about pursuing Sharpton was that he didn’t actually have to pursue her at all. She was the one who approached him and expressed interest in potentially joining the Parsons.

“It wasn’t any recruiting genius on my part,” Holaday said with a laugh. “It was just good fortune.”

Snead State’s women have won the last seven Alabama Community College Conference championships. Last year’s squad sported a combined grade point average of 3.54.