Spartans girls win state title, boys finish runner-up

The Mountain Brook High School tennis teams nearly pulled off a sweep of the Class 6A state championship crowns in April at the Mobile Tennis Center.

The girls won their fifth straight state championship and state record 31st state title as a program, scoring 71 points to beat runner-up St. Paul’s, which scored 62 total points in the tournament. Montgomery Academy and Decatur took home third and fourth.

The boys team was left with the runner-up trophy after Northridge won the final match of the tournament to break a tie with the Spartans. Northridge’s No. 1 singles player, Braden Hannig, won the final over Montgomery Academy’s Whit Davis to give his team the state crown. 

Northridge finished with 64 points, to Mountain Brook’s 62. Spanish Fort, Montgomery Academy and Trinity had solid tournaments as well.

For the girls team, it was the culmination of another fantastic season. The team replaced several starters from last year and did not skip a beat.

“I was just really proud of how they finished out, because we were in a dog fight there,” Mountain Brook coach Susan Farlow said. “They won all the matches on Friday that we needed to. It came down to the No. 1 and 2 doubles and we ended up winning both of them.”

The state tournament is formatted with six singles flights and three doubles flights. Mountain Brook’s girls won six of the nine, which was enough to win it all. The Mountain Brook boys won five of nine, but still fell short. It was the second straight year they were edged out narrowly for the state crown, falling victim to a few tough draws in addition to tough matches.

“They finished second out of 18 teams and that’s not to be overlooked,” Farlow said, noting the strength of the competition at the 6A level. “I hate it for them, but they’re fired up and want to come back next year and hopefully get it done.”

On the girls side, Pippa Roy led the way for the Spartans, dominating to win the No. 1 singles and doubles brackets. Roy didn’t even lose a game until the semifinals of the singles competition, blowing past Mortimer Jordan’s Madison Parker and Northridge’s Jacqueline Alcocer without dropping a game. In the semifinals, Roy beat Jasper’s Sophia Poolos 6-0, 6-1, before knocking off Montgomery Academy’s Gabby Barrera 6-0, 6-4 in the final.

Roy teamed up with Annie Lacey to win the doubles title as well. The duo lost two games total over the first two rounds, beating Gardendale’s Katie Calvert and Sara Kate Howard and Helena’s Erin Townes and Katie Brooks by identical 6-0, 6-1 score lines. Roy and Lacey got a fight from UMS-Wright’s Sarah Ladd and Carol Murray in the semis, but prevailed 6-2, 7-5. The final was an even tougher matchup, as they defeated the St. Paul’s pair of Libbie and Emma Jane Hamilton 3-6, 6-1, 10-7.

Annie Lacey ran through the No. 3 singles bracket to claim a state title of her own. She beat Emma Eady of Hillcrest, then blanked Mortimer Jordan’s Zoie McGuirk in the second round. She beat Montgomery Academy’s Mae Mae Voltz in the semifinals and took down Emme Clement of St. Paul’s 6-3, 6-0 in the final.

Mae Mae Lacey won it all in No. 5 singles, losing only seven games in four matches. She beat Ella Thrasher of Jasper 6-0, 6-1 in the first round, then kept Chelsea’s Sophie Mashon off the scoreboard entirely in the second round. She then beat Maggie Sullivan of St. Paul’s 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals and defeated Decatur’s Vivi Blakely 6-3, 6-0 in the finals.

Ann Royal Goodson stole the show in No. 6 singles, losing one game between her first round match against Halley French and second round showing against Northridge’s Alexandra Salekin. She outlasted Mary Michael Key of St. Paul’s 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals before blowing past Montgomery Academy’s Mary Lee Kelso 6-4, 6-2 in the final.

On the doubles side, the No. 2 pair of Ann Coleman and Mae Mae Lacey won it all. The tandem beat teams from Jasper, Hillcrest and Chelsea with ease before taking down Clement and Sullivan and in the final, 6-3, 6-2.

Lillian Still, the lone senior in the Mountain Brook program, reached the semifinals of the No. 2 singles bracket. She cruised past Mortimer Jordan’s Addison Hughes in the opening round and beat Decatur’s Abby Glover in the second round. Emma Jane Hamilton got her in the semifinals, 7-5, 6-2.

In No. 4 singles, Mary Neal Polk shut out Trinity’s Kensley Williamson in the opening round, but ran into eventual champ Grace Swain of St. Paul’s in the second round. 

Still and Polk finished runner-up in No. 3 doubles, beating Jasper, Chelsea and Montgomery Academy to get there. They fell to a St. Paul’s pair 6-2, 7-6 in a tight final.

For the boys, Luke Schwefler won it all in No. 2 singles. His toughest match was in the second round against Spanish Fort’s Gillen Holley, who he beat 6-2, 6-4. Schwefler then blew past Trinity’s Samuel Treadwell and Homewood’s Ben Kovakas to capture the title.

In No. 3 singles, Thomas Austin lost two games in each of his first three rounds, as he knocked off Hillcrest’s Andrew Scott, Montgomery Academy’s John Alford and Jasper’s Luke Oliver. In the final, he took down Northridge’s Jose Alcocer 6-3, 7-5.

Max Gayden took care of business in No. 5 singles, beating Mortimer Jordan’s Brody Lowery, Montgomery Academy’s Jackson Brown, Homewood’s Foster Laird and Northridge’s James Embry, all in straight-forward fashion, to win the crown.

Trey Stiles also ran through the No. 6 bracket without dropping a set, outlasting Fort Payne’s Kristopher Boyette, McGill-Toolen’s Austin Jackson, Spanish Fort’s Nash Thomas and Montgomery Academy’s Gaines Freeman.

Logan Woodall lost a heartbreaker in the No. 4 final, as he dropped a third-set tiebreaker 11-9 to Spanish Fort’s Jake Miller. The two split the first two sets before Miller won the third.

Connor Jenkins got a tough draw in No. 1 singles, losing to Homewood’s Gray Johnson 7-5, 6-4, in the second round. Johnson moved to the quarterfinals a week after winning the section tournament.  

In No. 1 doubles, Jenkins and Woodall got past Montgomery Academy before falling to the Northridge pair in the semifinals, one that went on to win the state title.

After surviving a third-set tiebreaker against McGill-Toolen in the second round, Schwefler and Gayden defeated Trinity and Spanish Fort to win the trophy.

Austin and George Dumas played No. 3 doubles, advancing to the semifinals after wins over Hartselle and Jasper. They fell in a third-set tiebreaker against Montgomery Academy in the semifinals.