Photo courtesy of Carlee Petro.
The Mountain Brook High School boys and girls tennis teams swept the Class 6A state championships on April 24 in Mobile.
For the 18th time in program history, Mountain Brook High School's tennis teams swept the state championships in the same season, with both the boys and girls claiming Class 6A titles at the Mobile Tennis Center in April.
The Spartans girls extended their remarkable run of dominance, winning their sixth straight championship and adding to a state-record 35 AHSAA tennis crowns overall. The boys claimed their third consecutive 6A title and 29th overall. Both programs are coached by Carlee Petro.
The boys turned in one of the most dominant performances of the tournament, finishing with 71 points and outscoring runner-up Northridge by 28.
Five Spartans reached singles finals, and all five came away as champions. Sophomore Quint Freeman won the No. 1 singles title in three sets, rallying past Northridge's Will Thom 4-6, 6-4, 10-4 in the championship match after dropping the first set. Freeman had navigated a tough bracket, beating Cole Howell of Jasper in the quarterfinals and Luke Wallace of Pike Road in the semifinals.
Sophomore Aary Palaniappan was equally impressive at No. 3, not dropping a set all tournament and finishing with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Ben Ford of Muscle Shoals in the final. Junior Tony Sciara dominated at No. 4, going through the bracket without dropping a game in the final against Sam Christian of Pell City, 6-0, 6-0. Freshman Towns Lassiter won the No. 5 singles title, and junior James Burnette claimed No. 6, giving the Spartans a clean sweep across the lineup.
Mountain Brook also won the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles titles. Senior Karna Palaniappan and Lassiter teamed to win No. 2 doubles, while Luke Nagi and Aary Palaniappan delivered the No. 3 doubles crown.
The girls matched the boys' excellence. Mountain Brook posted 68 points, outdistancing runner-up Decatur by 29. The Spartans won four singles titles.
Sophomore Virginia Puckett won at No. 3, beating Elizabeth Chappell of Homewood 6-3, 6-1 in the final. Junior Leila Malatesta took the No. 4 title in three sets, rallying past Hartselle's Gabby Guice 7-5, 4-6, 10-6. Junior Sarah Still went through the bracket without dropping a set, winning the No. 5 title 6-1, 6-0 over Decatur's Katherine Botto. Freshman Kathleen Wilkinson capped the day with the No. 6 singles crown, beating Decatur's Annie Pylant 6-2, 6-3 to finish her season with an undefeated record.
In doubles, Leslie Mitchell and Wilkinson combined to win the No. 2 title, while Still and Malatesta competed at No. 3. Olivia Roberts competed at No. 1 singles and reached the semifinals, falling to eventual champion Tereza Mojs of Gulf Shores.
Mountain Brook's 18 dual sweeps, stretching back to 1972, remain unmatched in state history.
