Spartans add another state map to the trophy case

Mountain Brook tennis nearly pulled off the elusive sweep at the state tournament.

The boys were dominant on the way to their second consecutive state championship, while the girls just missed adding another blue map to the trophy case on April 25-26 in Decatur. 

The boys team scored 53 total points, more than doubling McGill-Toolen’s second-place score of 22. The Spartans played so well that the outcome was already determined well before the end of the tournament.

In singles play, the boys won four of the six titles. David Faulkner at No. 2, Yates Jackson at No. 3, Seth Cohen at No. 5 and Leo Styslinger at No. 6 all won individual state championships. No. 1 Peter Hartman advanced to the quarterfinals, while No. 4 Paul Jones reached the semifinals.

“A lot of these teams have really strong ones and two, but we have the depth that these other teams don’t have,” coach Susan Farlow said.

The Spartans swept the three doubles competitions, with Hartman and Jackson, Faulkner and Jones, and Chase Robinett and Andrew Karcher all winning.

“I do think they were the favorite,” Farlow said of the boys team. “That in itself carries a lot of pressure.”

The Spartans had to play 10 matches the second day of the tournament, and stepped up.

“They really got tough and really took care of business,” Farlow said.

On the girls side, Vestavia Hills just nipped the Spartans by a score of 42-40, with the clincher coming on the final match of the day. Freshman Margaret Polk won the No. 1 singles title in dominant 6-1, 6-0 fashion over Caroline Adams of Fairhope, while Cele Sullivan took home the crown in No. 4 singles.

No. 2 Sarah Cooper and No. 5 Morgan Jenkins each reached the finals, but lost in three sets. Ellie Polk advanced to the semifinals of the No. 2 singles, and Margaret Ann Clark also participated.

In doubles, Cooper and Sullivan triumphed in No. 2 doubles. The other two tandems of Polk and Polk, and Helen Catherine Darby and Kat Sours reached the semifinals.

“It was a very successful season. You can never downplay being runners-up at state,” Farlow said. “That is a huge achievement in and of itself.”

Three of the top six boys on the team are graduating, in opening up half the team’s slots for competition. Farlow feels good about the players she has waiting in the wings. The girls should be strong next season, as well, as they lose just one senior to graduation in Darby.

“We’ll be back next year,” Farlow said.