Briarwood boys repeat, girls finish 2nd in state tennis tournament
The Briarwood Christian School boys tennis team fulfilled its lofty expectations, as the Lions dominated the Class 4A-5A tournament to repeat as state champions.
Briarwood accumulated 87 points in the state tournament, more than doubling LAMP’s second-place total of 40 points.
The girls team earned a trophy as well, scoring 59 points to finish as the runner-up to UMS-Wright (81 points).
The Lions boys earned their status as one of the top teams in the state all year long and did nothing to suggest otherwise at the state tournament, held April 23-24 at the Mobile Tennis Center.
“It was exciting,” said Briarwood coach Jeremy Mears. “I just wanted us to play to our potential. I thought the guys stepped it up.”
For the boys, Parker Bradbary, Connor Coleman, Ethan Carr, Alex Felts and Tyler Guerra all won singles championships. The Lions’ No. 1 singles player, John Wolf, was forced to complete the tournament the following Monday and finished as the runner-up.
All three Briarwood doubles teams won their respective brackets as well. John Wolf and Bradbary teamed up in the top doubles pair, Coleman and Luke Wolf won No. 2, and Carr and Guerra won the third doubles bracket.
Mears said that the strength and depth of the boys team was one of its biggest advantages throughout the season, since the Lions practiced against top competition every day.
He said, “There was no letdown and they just pulled for one another throughout the year.”
For the girls, Callie Ware and Katelyn Bussey teamed up in the No. 2 doubles bracket to win the championship. Ware, Bussey and Hancock each reached the final of their respective singles brackets, while Kara Coleman and Laura Herren finished runner-up in No. 1 doubles. Coleman and Grayson Emerson reached the semifinals in singles and Emerson and Hancock were quarterfinalists in No. 3 doubles.
“I was really pleased with the girls,” Mears said.
Bradbary’s eligibility expires after this year and is the only loss on the boys side. Herren, Bussey and Keaton Cross were the girls team’sthree seniors.