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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The Pelham Panthers, Helena Huskies, Briarwood Christian Lions and Westminster School at Oak Mountain Knights all punched their tickets to the boys and girls state tennis championships with successful stints at the sectional championships.

Helena claimed both the boys and girls Class 6A, Section 3 championships at the Pelham Tennis Center on April 15 and 15, defeating Pelham as both teams clinched state championship spots as the top two teams in the sectional points standings.

Briarwood also won the Class 4A-5A, Section 5 girls championship while Indian Springs’ Sohana Caplash won the No. 1 singles sectional title to qualify as an individual.

Westminster OM’s boys qualified as one of the two teams that competed in the Class 1A-3A, Section 3 championships. In addition, the Knights’ Wesley Eyrich won the No. 3 singles title over Simon Mitrev.

For the 6A boys No. 1 bracket, Pelham’s Sipho Mashego won the title in straight sets, defeating Helena’s Reggie Henson 6-4, 6-3.

Helena secured the No. 2 singles title as Andy Marshall defeated Pelham’s Jacob Lee with a pair of 6-4 score lines.

Helena’s Eli Andrews emerged victorious in the No. 3 singles bracket with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Pelham’s Koa Thompson.

Pelham’s Bennett Wallace took the No. 4 singles championship without dropping a game, winning 6-0, 6-0 against Helena’s Asher Eaton.

Pelham also won the No. 5 singles title as Chris Trujillo defeated Helena’s Gabriel Two Bears 6-2, 6-4 in the finals.

Helena’s Colin Baggett won the No. 6 singles title with two 6-1 set wins over Pelham’s Eli Calvert.

As for doubles, Helena’s Henson and Andrews split the first two sets with Pelham’s Mashego and Lee in the No. 1 finals. The Huskies won the first set 6-1 before a 6-4 victory in the second set for the Panthers. Henson and Andrews carried their momentum into a 17-15 win in the third-set tiebreaker.

Pelham’s Thompson and Wallace won the No. 2 doubles title with a pair of 6-2 set wins over Helena’s Marshall and Eaton.

The No. 3 doubles finals saw Helena’s Baggett and Brewer Jones win 6-2, 6-3 against Pelham’s Liam Brainerd and Trujillo.

Wetumpka, Chilton County, Benjamin Russell and Stanhope Elmore each participated in the sectional tournaments, but Helena and Pelham reached the finals in each bracket to dominate the team standings.

As for the girls in Class 6A, Section 3, Pelham’s Allyson Pieper won the No. 1 singles title with a three-set victory over Helena’s Ashtyn Lackey. Pieper won the first set 6-4 before Lackey came surging back with a 6-1 second-set win. Pieper then took the third-set tiebreaker 10-6 to win.

The No. 2 singles bracket saw Pelham’s Carolyn Morton defeat Helena’s Elizabeth Stokes 7-6, 6-4 in straight sets.

Pelham’s Gracely Howatt won the No. 3 singles title with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Helena’s Kendall Lewis in the finals.

Kendall Washington also brought home the No. 4 singles championship for the Panthers with a three-set win over Helena’s Avery Adair. Adair won the first set 6-3 before Washington took the second set 6-2 and third set 10-8.

Helena’s Eva Stokes earned the No. 5 singles title over Wetumpka’s Mary Ellis Baker with a 6-2, 6-3 straight-set victory.

Pelham senior Kylee Hester took a three-set win over Helena’s Emelia Stokes to secure the No. 6 singles title. Stokes won the first set 6-4 before Hester stormed back with a 6-3 win in the second set. Hester then rolled to a 10-4 third-set win to take the championship.

In the No. 1 doubles tournament, Helena’s Lackey and Stokes defeated Pelham’s Pieper and Morton for the title. The Huskies won the first set 6-1 before a 6-4 Panthers win in the second set. Helena secured the 10-7 third-set win to earn the title.

The No. 2 doubles match also went the distance as Pelham’s Washington and Howatt beat Helena’s Lewis and Adair. The Huskies took set one 6-4 before the Panthers flipped the score line for a 6-4 second-set win. Pelham held on for the 10-8 third-set victory.

Helena won the No. 3 doubles title in straight sets as Eva and Emelia Stokes defeated Pelham’s Hester and Lizzie Bethers 6-4, 6-3.

In the Class 4A-5A girls championship, Indian Springs’ Caplash defeated Altamont’s Kaavya Karthikeyan 6-4, 6-1 to qualify for state as the No. 1 singles champion.

The No. 2 singles bracket saw Briarwood’s Ashley Brooke Tomberlin win in three sets over Donoho’s Blair Kitchen. Tomberlin won the first set 6-3 before dropping the second set 6-4. She largely remained in control in the third set for a 10-4 win and the title.

Briarwood’s Emma Jahraus won the No. 3 singles title in straight sets over Donoho’s Anne Marie Harris 6-2, 6-1.

Briarwood also won the No. 4 singles championship as Margaret Harbor battled through a pair a split 7-6 sets against Donoho’s Natalie Rodgers to win the third set 10-3.

Alexis Carter of the Lions reached the finals in the No. 5 singles bracket with a straight-set semifinal win over Leeds’ Lauren Weems before losing in a 13-11 third-set tiebreaker to Donoho’s Elizabeth Downey.

Briarwood’s Eva Leech finished runner-up in the No. 6 singles bracket after beating Indian Springs’ Lillian Shen 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals but falling in three sets to Donoho’s Claire Tollison in the finals.

As for the doubles, Harbor and Tomberlin made No. 1 doubles finals for Briarwood before losing 6-3, 6-2 to Donoho’s Kitchen and Avery Barnett.

Briarwood won the No. 2 doubles title with a 6-2, 6-0 win for Jahraus and Sarah Wolf over Leeds’ Scout Thomas and Weems.

Finally, Leech and Carter made the No. 3 doubles finals while representing Briarwood but lost 6-1, 6-2 to Donoho’s Rodgers and Samantha Wakefield.

The state tennis tournament will take place on April 21-25 at the Mobile Tennis Center.