Spartan tennis teams sweep section tournaments
HOOVER – The Mountain Brook High School boys and girls tennis teams put together impressive performances earlier this week to win the Class 7A, Section 3 tournament, hosted by Spain Park High School.
On Tuesday, the Spartan boys dominated, winning all six singles brackets and each of the three doubles rounds, accumulating a maximum 63 points.
Peter Hartman, David Faulkner, Paul Jones, Chase Robinett, Alva Caine and William Watts all won the Nos. 1-6 brackets, respectively. Hartman and Faulkner knocked off foes from Oak Mountain, while the other four bested competitors from Vestavia Hills.
Hartman and Faulkner combined on the No. 1 line in doubles to take the crown over an Oak Mountain duo. Jones and Robinett took home the title in No. 2 doubles, while Watts and Andrew Karcher won the No. 3 slate.
The Vestavia Hills boys edged out Spain Park for second place with 29 points to 21 for the Jags, allowing the Rebels to advance to the state tournament along with the Spartans. The state tournament will take place next week in Montgomery.
Coach Susan Farlow lauded Mountain Brook’s depth in the boys and girls teams, a factor that showed up in a big way.
“A good part about playing with a team like this, they know if something happens, one of their teammates can pick up the slack and it’s not all on one person’s shoulders,” she said.
The day prior, on Monday, the Mountain Brook girls also won the section tournament, but by a much closer margin than the boys. The Spartans finished with 48 points, followed by 41 from Spain Park, as the Jags advanced to their first state tournament as a team in school history. Vestavia placed third on the girls side.
“I am very pleased with how they did,” Farlow said. “Even though we had beaten Spain Park and Vestavia head to head in the regular season, all the matches were close.”
Mountain Brook’s girls managed to win four singles titles and one doubles title. Margaret Polk took home the crown on the No. 1 line, with Cele Sullivan, Liz Vandevelde and Morgan Jenkins winning the Nos. 4, 5, 6 brackets, respectively.
Vandevelde and Maggie Duggan won the No. 3 doubles crown.
The four titles that the Spartans did not win, Spain Park did. The Jags took home the crown in No. 2 singles -- as Mountain Brook’s Sarah Cooper made it to the semifinals -- No. 3 singles -- where Ellie Polk lost in the final -- and the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles lines.
Both boys and girls teams from Mountain Brook will participate in the Class 7A state tournament at Lagoon Park next Monday and Tuesday, April 24-25. Last season, the boys won the state title and the girls came up just short to Vestavia.