Girls repeat, boys finish 3rd at tennis state tournament

MOBILE -- The Spartans girls pulled off the repeat.

Mountain Brook High School’s girls tennis team won the Class 7A tennis state tournament for the second year in a row, while the boys team placed third. The tournament was held April 23-24 at the Mobile Tennis Center.

The girls team accumulated 50 points, 13 more than runner-up Vestavia Hills. It was the 27th state title for the girls program.

“I was so proud because this team is young,” said Mountain Brook coach Susan Farlow, who coaches the boys and girls teams. “Everybody contributed to the team total.”

Both teams swept the state championships last spring, but the boys team finished third this year. McGill-Toolen took the top spot with 41 points, followed closely by Vestavia Hills with 38. The Spartans finished with 27 points.

The state tournament is split into six singles brackets and three doubles brackets, and points are awarded accordingly for each match victory.

For the girls, three players won singles titles and a doubles team picked up a state championship as well. Charlotte Gillum at No. 2 singles, No. 4 Liz Vandevelde and No. 6 Maggie Duggan won their respective brackets. The No. 1 doubles tandem of Emma Karcher and Vandevelde took home the crown as well. Vandevelde finished the season without a loss in singles or doubles.

Emma Karcher at No. 1, Madison Jenkins at No. 3, and the No. 3 doubles team of Warner Johnson and May McInnis advanced to the finals. No. 5 singles player Whitton Bumgarner and the No. 2 team of Gillum and Jenkins were semifinalists.

Making the Lady Spartans’ win more impressive was the fact that five of the six singles players and four of the six doubles players were new to the lineup this season.

On the boys side, No. 3 singles player Aidan Cabraja and No. 6 Stuart Phelan won state titles. The No. 1 doubles team of Andrew Karcher and William Watts advanced to the finals, while No. 2 Watts, No. 4 Haskins Jones, and No. 2 doubles tandem Cabraja and Phelan reached the semifinals. No. 1 Andrew Karcher, No. 5 Jonathan Wheeler, and No. 3 doubles team Jones and Cars Chandler were quarterfinalists.

Much like the girls, the boys team returned only a few players from last season. But the two programs are in different spots with the conclusion of the season.

The boys lineup at state featured five seniors, so several new players will need to step in again next season with Cabraja, Andrew Karcher, Jones, Wheeler, Chandler and Vann Walthall graduating.

“I have a young group with some talent and they got to see how important it is to play in tournaments over the summer to experience,” Farlow said.

But Duggan was the only senior on the girls squad this year, meaning the Lady Spartans already look like a force to be reckoned with in 2019.

“The girls are young and they’re strong,” said Farlow.

Glenn Lamar and Caroline Hall assist Farlow with the tennis teams.