Picking up momentum

Don’t tell the Mountain Brook tennis team that it doesn’t belong.

The boys team set a goal of going up to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the prestigious Rotary Tournament and coming away with a first-place trophy.

There aren’t many instances where the Spartans are not one of the top dogs in the race. The Rotary Tournament is one of those rare times. The usual winners of the tournament are tennis powers, private schools that attract the top players from their regions.

Mountain Brook High School is a public school, where you get what you get when it comes to talent. And that was good enough for second at Rotary, a tournament the school has never won. It was not the result the boys strived for but was a good one at that.

Back in Alabama, though, the Spartans have a gameday experience. Maybe not up to the level of tailgating for Alabama or Auburn football games, but still pretty good. 

Match day on the Mountain Brook tennis courts draws people in. Amy Jackson — Yates’ mother — introduces herself as a team mom and grills enough hot dogs for seemingly the whole school. While that may only be a slight exaggeration, student support is on the rise for tennis.

“Tennis is growing in Mountain Brook,” Peter Hartman said. “More people are coming out to the matches. It’s a lot more fun when we have supporters and a fan base.”

“That’s something we’ve kind of stressed doing this year,” Yates Jackson said. “Getting people out here and getting the word out, and it’s worked so far.”

A set of bleachers and a grassy hill are littered with friends and family, hoping to see another 9-0 rout from the Spartans, not an uncommon sight regardless of the opponent.

Hartman, David Faulkner and Yates Jackson led the charge in singles this season on the boys side.

“We could draw their names out of a hat on any day and put them 1-2-3,” said Wally Nall, one of the coaches of the team along with Susan Farlow. The pair has led the program for the last nine years.

Hartman claimed the title of No. 1 for the season, due in part to his consistency and composure on the court.

Faulkner is the fiery one of the bunch, and his emotions can run rampant if not held in check. He likened some of his antics to rising professional tennis star Nick Kyrgios, but was quick to point out he’s been punished for it too.

“It’s funny, because (David) knows himself,” Nall said. “He’s a great kid, but he’s gotten a double competitive spirit, and it comes out sometimes.”

Make no mistake, though. When Faulkner channels his emotion in the right direction, he is one of the top players in the state. He, along with Hartman, Jackson and Paul Jones, took home a state championship in singles in 2015.

Jackson joins Hartman as the top doubles duo on the team.

“They’re considered our dynamic duo. Having 6-foot-3 ‘Cherry’ at the net is big,” Faulkner said.

Jackson quickly corrected Faulkner. “6-4.”

His red hair garnered him the nickname, and when the left-hander is playing at the front, Hartman can usually hit one shot and become a spectator.

“Yeah, I hit a serve and I just stand there because he’s got the whole net covered,” Hartman said.

Farlow added, “It looks like (Jackson) is hardly even trying. He has all this unusual spin.”

On the girls side of the net, freshman Margaret Polk emerged as the top singles threat, with Sarah Cooper, her sister Ellie Polk, and Cele Sullivan in tow. The Polks formed the top doubles tandem.

“We play doubles together, which is really fun,” Ellie Polk said, who won a singles and doubles state championship in 2015. “But we don’t have a rivalry or anything.”

No sibling rivalry at all?

“There really isn’t,” Nall said.