All six singles performers for defending Class 7A boys’ state champion Vestavia Hills High School advanced to the finals and two doubles teams will vie for titles on Tuesday after the AHSAA State Tennis Championships got underway on Monday in Mobile.
Class 7A and Class 4A/5A started play on Monday at the Mobile Tennis Center as the boys compete for the 79th year and the girls play in the 61st annual state tourney. No tournaments were held due to COVID-19 in 2020.
Classes 1A/3A and 6A will begin play Thursday and conclude on Friday.
Vestavia Hills totaled 27 points in the Class 7A girls’ tennis competition Monday and held a slim 27-21 lead over Huntsville at the end of the day. Defending state champion Auburn is third with 20 points and Montgomery Academy is fourth with 15.
In 4A/5A play, defending girls’ champion UMS-Wright scored 42 points on Day 1 to lead Russellville by 9 headed into Tuesday’s finals.
The Houston Academy boys lead Jasper 44-34 after Day 1 with defending state champ LAMP of Montgomery in third with 33, followed by Deshler (32) and Russellville (25). The field included 20 schools.
Jasper’s girls managed 31 points to hold third place, followed by LAMP (26), Douglas (24) and Randolph (24). Play opens Tuesday in 4A/5A with the singles and doubles semifinals and finals still left to play.
Vestavia’s boys’ team totaled 33 points Monday and hold a commanding 13-point lead over Auburn (20) and Florence (17), who stood at second and third headed into Tuesday’s final day of competition. Play resumes Tuesday morning with Class 7A boys’ and girls’ singles finals followed by the doubles semifinal matches and concluding with the doubles championships.
Vestavia junior Luke Bedwell, who won the 7A No. 2 singles title last season, won both matches in Monday’s No. 1 singles competition to advance to the singles finals. He will face Fairhope senior Porter Hornigold, who also posted quarterfinal and semifinal wins. Bedwell beat Florence sophom*ore Jack White 6-2, 6-0 and Bob Jones junior Reed Rafferty in the semis 6-3, 6-1. Hornigold defeated Montgomery Academy junior John Alford 6-1, 6-2 in his opening match and moved into the finals with a 5-7, 6-4, 10-6 win over Auburn senior Jisung Choo.
Vestavia Hills also advanced John Michael Yanosky (No. 2), Andrew Pipkin (No. 3), Brayden Helms (No. 4), Louis Kolettis (No. 5) and Parker Liu (No. 6) to Tuesday’s finals. Yanosky won the No. 3 singles championship in 2023 while Pipkin won at No. 6 singles and Helms won at No. 5 singles.
Auburn advanced two players to the finals, Jason Wang at No. 3 singles and Shin Kim at No. 5. Bob Jones’ Jonah Moro, who teamed with Parker Free last year to win the No. 1 doubles crown, advanced to the No. 1 doubles semifinals with partner Reed Rafferty Monday. They will face Auburn’s Jisung Choo and Kevin Yanin the semifinals Tuesday morning.
In the girls’ 7A competition defending No. 1 singles champion Gabby Barrera of Montgomery Academy, won both matches to move into the state finals. The junior defeated James Clemens’ Nakititha Chivukula 6-0, 6-1 in the first round and moved to the finals with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Hoover’s Hannah Hwangpo. She will face freshman Mazie MacGrotty of Huntsville in the championship match Tuesday morning. MacGrotty beat Daphne senior Abby Jordan 6-0, 6-0 and Vestavia Hills junior Madison Standifer 6-0, 6-1 to advance to the championship match.
Montgomery Academy senior Mae Mae Voltz, who won the No. 3 singles last season, advanced to the finals at No. 2 singles and will face Vestavia Hills junior Kenley Outzen in the finals. Barrera and Voltz also advanced to the No. 1 doubles semis while Outzen and Standifer also advanced to the No. 1 doubles semis. The Rebels’ duo will face MacGrotty and Brown from Huntsville, and the Eagles’ pair will face Hwangpo and Abby Gobbels of Hoover.
Vestavia advanced four players to the singles finals. Montgomery Academy advanced three, Auburn and Huntsville advanced two each. The Rebels have all three doubles teams in Tuesday’s semis.
Houston Academy senior Michael Piedra, who won the 1A/3A No. 1 singles title as a sophom*ore and finished second in Class 4A/5A last season, advanced to the semifinals with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Russellville’s Reece Carson and a tough 6-3, 6-4 win over Boaz’s Anderson Lambert. Piedra will meet Jasper senior William Johnson in the semifinals Tuesday. Johnson wins over LAMP’s Ian Shin and T.R. Miller’s Edward Bridges, winning 6-1, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-0, respectively, in his two matches.
In the other half of the boys’ No. 1 singles bracket, senior Jerrick Plan will meet Deshler sophom*ore Everett Minshew with the winner moving into Tuesday’s finals to face the winner of the Piedra-Johnson match. Plan beat Leeds senior Daniel Frolov 6-0, 6-1 and then posted a much tougher 7-5, 6-3 win over Sylacauga senior Zac Hope. Minshew downed Springville senior Luke Russo 6-0, 6-1 and Bayside Academy junior Montgomery Beall 6-0, 6-0.
In the Class 4A/5A girls’ No. 1 singles competition, UMS junior Sarah Ladd, the 2023 state champion, posted two impressive victories downing St. John Paul II senior Trish Bukenya 6-0, 6-2 and Douglas sophom*ore Callie Rae Bonds 6-0, 6-0. Ladd will meet Gulf Shores’ Teresa Mojs in the semis. Mojs beat Leeds’ Sadie Anthony and Houston Academy’s Kenza Bilbeisi in straight sets 6-0, 6-0 to set up her semifinal match.
In the other semifinals, seniors Peyton Parrish of Russellville and Ady Preston of Jasper advanced. Parrish defeated Mary Frances Collins of Bayside Academy 6-, 6-1 and Lova Stenberg of Randolph 6-0, 6-2. Preston survived a tough opening match with wit LAMP senior Reena Chen 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 and moved to the semis with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over John Carroll Catholic junior Ava Arteaga.
For complete results, go to the state tennis tournament links found on the front page of www.ahsaa.com.
AHSAA 2024 TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
MOBILE TENNIS CENTER
Monday’s Results/Tuesday’s Pairings
CLASS 7A BOYS’ TEAM SCORING
1) Vestavia Hills 33; 2) Auburn 20; 3) Florence 17; 4) Hoover 13; 5) Bob Jones 12; 6) Montgomery Academy 9; 7) Fairhope 4; 8) Daphne 0
CLASS 7A BOYS’ SINGLES
TUESDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS
No. 1: Porter Hornigold, Fairhope vs. Luke Bedwell, Vestavia Hills
No. 2: Jonah Moro, Bob Jones vs. John Michael Yanosky, Vestavia Hills
No. 3: Jason Wang, Auburn vs. Andrew Pipkin, Vestavia Hills
No. 4: Cade Black, Florence vs. Brayden Helms, Vestavia Hills
No. 5: Louis Kolettis, Vestavia Hills vs. Shin Kim, Auburn
No. 6: Wyler Washburn, Hoover vs. Parker Liu, Vestavia Hills
TUESDAY’S DOUBLES SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS
No. 1 Semis: Jisung Choo/Kevin Yan, Auburn vs. Brayden Helms/John Michael Yanosky, Vestavia Hills
No. 1 Semis: Cohen Joiner/Cade Black, Florence vs. Jonah Moro/Reed Rafferty, Bob Jones
No. 2 Semis: Jake Champion/Jack White, Florence vs. Ron Sharma/Ford Morano, Montgomery Academy
No. 2 Semis: Ben Cusmariu/Luke Bedwell, Vestavia Hills vs. Jason Wang/Camden Coburn, Auburn
No. 3 Semis: Andrew Pipkin/Louis, Kolettis, Vestavia Hills vs. Colin Kitts/Slade Campbell, Florence
No. 3 Semis: Noah Neveu/Trey Schiber, Bob Jones vs. Jackson Plugge/C.L. Colby, Hoover
CLASS 7A GIRLS
Team Scoring
1) Vestavia Hills 27; 2) Huntsville 21; 3) Auburn 20; 4) Montgomery Academy 15; 5) Hoover 11; 6) Fairhope 4; 7) Florence 10; 8) James Clemens 4; 9) Daphne 0
CLASS 7A GIRLS’ SINGLES
TUESDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS
No. 1: Mazie MacGrotty, Huntsville vs. Gabby Barrera, Montgomery Academy
No. 2: Mae Mae Voltz, Montgomery Academy vs. Kenley Outzen, Vestavia Hills
No. 3: Lola Campbell, Montgomery Academy vs. Caroline Helms, Vestavia Hills
No. 4: Hanbi Youn, Auburn vs. Kristina Hwangpo, Hoover
No. 5: Peyton Standifer, Vestavia Hills vs. Emie Little, Huntsville
No. 6: Jiyeon Park, Auburn vs. Riley McClain, Vestavia Hills
TUESDAY’S DOUBLES SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS
No. 1 Semis: Gabby Berrera/Mae Mae Voltz, Montgomery Academy vs. Hannah Hwangpo/Abby Gobbels, Hoover
No. 1 Semis: Madison Standifer/Kenley Outzen, Vestavia Hills vs. Mazie MacGrotty/Abby Brown, Huntsville
No. 2 Semis: Skylar Spinks/Paige Evans, Fairhope vs. Victoria Choo/Sophie Smith, Auburn
No. 2 Semis: Caroline Helms/Wynn Strubel, Vestavia Hills vs. Taliyah Williams/Hannah Bryant, Huntsville
No. 3 Semis: Riley McClain/ Anvitha Yaparia, Vestavia Hills vs. Shreya Ejantkar/Naomi Hanks, Auburn
No. 3 Semis: Sophie Shearburn/Emie Little, Huntsville vs. Gioia Calzetta/Kenley McLemore, Fairhope
CLASS 4A/5A
Boys’ Team Scoring 1) Houston Academy 44; 2) Jasper 34; 3) LAMP 33; 4) Deshler 32; 5) Russellville 25; 6) Boaz 22; 7) Randolph 16; 8) TR Miller 13; 9) Bayside Academy 10; 10) UMS-Wright 9; 11) Southside-Gadsden 8; 12) Springville 7; 13) Sylacauga 6; 14) Leeds 4; 15) Andalusia 3
CLASS 4A/5A
Girls’ Team Scoring 1) UMS-Wright 42; 2) Russellville 33; 3) Jasper 31; 4) LAMP 26; 5) Douglas 24; 6) Randolph 24; 7) Brooks 15; 8) Leeds 13; 9) John Carroll 11; 10) Donoho 10; 11) Demopolis 9; 11) Sylacauga 9; 13) Gulf Shores 6; 13) Houston Academy 6; 15) T.R. Miller 5; 15) St. John Paul II 5; 17) Bayside Academy 2
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