Patriots reach state, achieve great season
The Homewood High School tennis teams knew they had a chance to do something special coming into this spring.
They followed through on that, with both the boys and girls teams qualifying for the Class 6A state tournament in April at the Mobile Tennis Center.
The boys team finished tied for sixth with 19 points, while the girls earned two points in the tournament. It was the first time in several years both the boys and girls teams made it to state.
Mountain Brook won the 6A girls tournament, piling up 71 points to take the title, with St. Paul’s finishing as the runner-up. The boys tournament was not decided until the final match, as Northridge beat Mountain Brook 64-62 to claim the tournament title.
“The boys had been playing well all year, and the girls had a nice, steady progression,” Homewood coach Terrance Cobb said of the season. “Once we got to March, you could see the girls start to jel and groove and play competitive matches. It was nice to see it all come to fruition at sectionals.”
The boys and girls teams finished second at the section tournament the week prior to state to qualify for the state tournament.
Gray Johnson had a bye in the first round of the No. 1 singles, then beat Mountain Brook’s Connor Jenkins 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the tournament. It was the third time Johnson beat Jenkins this season, including a win for the section title.
Ben Kovakas had a tremendous run in the No. 2 singles bracket, reaching the final. Kovakas knocked off Andrew Krack of Mortimer Jordan 6-0, 6-1, then defeated McGill-Toolen’s Nick Short by the same score. In the semifinals, he knocked off Northridge’s Ethan Wilson 6-3, 6-2. Mountain Brook’s Luke Schwefler won in the final, 6-0, 6-1.
“The fundamentals have always been there, but he’s grown and put on muscle. Once you combine the mental with the physical, he’s developed into this high-profile player who is playing really well,” Cobb said.
In No. 3 singles, Jack Farrell beat Helena’s Sam Harrison in straight sets before falling to Northridge’s Jose Alcocer in the second round.
Foster Laird beat Arab’s Owen Thomas in the first round of No. 5 singles. In the second round, Laird clipped Spanish Fort’s Jacob Thom 10-8 in a third-set tiebreaker. Mountain Brook’s Max Gayden defeated Laird in the semifinals.
In No. 2 doubles, Kovakas and Colton Cox won their first round match and fell to Northridge 10-8 in a third-set tiebreaker in the second round.
Sam Housman played No. 4 singles, and Cox played at No. 6. Johnson and Jack Farrell were at No. 1 doubles, and Laird and Henry Erickson played at No. 3 doubles.
On the girls side, Harper Sheils won a first-round match for the Patriots. She beat Mortimer Jordan’s Alexis Pamphilis 6-2, 6-3 in No. 6 singles.
Linlee Dunn competed at No. 1 singles, Madeline Ann Brockwell at No. 2, Olivia Milstead at No. 3, Paige Phillips at No. 4 and Ava Dillard at No. 5. Dunn and Phillips were the No. 1 doubles team, Brockwell and Milstead played at No. 2, and Dillard and Lauren Brown were the No. 3 doubles pair.
There are seven total seniors in the Homewood program this season. Cobb hopes the progress that he has seen continue in the program this spring will stay on track.
“Tennis is growing so well at Homewood that kids are coming in already knowing how to play,” he said. “Kids are coming to the high school team ready to have success.”