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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MOBILE – The Briarwood Christian Lions secured a blue map by the slightest of margins on Friday, April 25 as they secured the Class 4A/5A boys tennis championship by just one point in the team standings.

Briarwood eked out a 62-61 first-place finish over Deshler in the team standings to win at the Mobile Tennis Center.

It was a big day for the Lions, who had multiple individual championships as the boys and girls performed well alongside multiple individual competitors from Indian Springs School. The girls finished sixth in the team standings and won the Sportsmanship Award.

Briarwood’s Alec Perez won the boys No. 2 singles championship without dropping a single set. He started off with a win over Booker T. Washington’s Saif Tanveer where he didn’t lose a game before beating Providence Christian’s Mason McCallister 6-4, 6-1.

From there, he defeated Wilson’s Noah Hetrick 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals and took the championship with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Deshler’s Brody Black.

Indian Springs’ Ben Bray earned a spot in the boys No. 2 quarterfinals with a three-set win over John Carroll Catholic’s Tim Meehan. Bray won the first set 7-6 before losing the second one 6-2. He then secured the 12-10 third-set tiebreaker to advance.

Hayes McKell gave the Lions another state championship in the boys No. 3 singles flight. He defeated Saint James’ David Rees 6-1, 6-2, Providence Christian’s Hampton Baxley, 6-2, 6-3 and Wilson’s Liam Sanders 6-4, 6-3 to reach the finals.

Once there, he beat LAMP’s Richard Chen 6-0, 6-1 in straight sets to secure the championship without dropping a set.

In the same flight, Indian Springs’ Yel made the quarterfinals with a three-set win over American Christian’s Alex Horn in the first round. He took the tiebreaker set 10-3 after a 7-5 second-set win.

Briarwood’s Kaden Gonzalez won the boys No. 5 singles state championship. He defeated American Christian’s Issac Merrell 6-0, 6-1 in the first round and LAMP’s Justin Chung in three sets with 6-1 second-set and 10-3 third-set wins in the quarterfinals.

He then defeated Deshler’s Braxton Black in three sets with a 6-4 second-set and 10-7 third set victory ahead of the title match against Wilson’s Freddy Franks. He won the championship in straight sets by scores of 6-1 and 7-6.

Rhett Shaddinger of Briarwood was the runner-up in the boys No. 4 singles flight. He defeated Booker T. Washington’s Greg Moore and Randolph School’s Rudhra Patel in straight sets to reach the semifinals. After that, he won his semifinal matchup against Boaz’s Aaron Lancaster in three sets.

Lancaster won the first set 7-6 before Shaddinger stormed back with a 6-1 second-set win and a 10-4 tiebreaker win. Shaddinger then lost to Deshler’s Oliver Thompson in three sets.

Baker Cullum of Briarwood took runner-up honors in the boys No. 6 singles bracket. He reached the finals with straight-set wins over Douglas’ Hudson Hope, Providence Christian’s Austin Hayes and Randolph’s Paul Lee.

Briarwood’s Jani Martin reached the quarterfinals of the boys No. 1 singles bracket with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Saint James’ Danny Trock before losing to the eventual state champion, Deshler’s Everette Minshew.

Over on the girls side, Briarwood’s Ashley Brooke Tomberlin made the finals in the No. 2 singles flight. She defeated LAMP’s Simone Allegro, Providence Christian’s Alice Pittman and Westminster Christian’s Sydney Huffman to reach the finals with each win coming in straight sets.

Emma Jahrus also made the finals in the girls No. 3 singles bracket. She defeated Russellville’s Josie Burcham 6-1, 6-0 in the first round, Saint James’ Bailey Woods 6-0, 6-1 in the quarterfinals and Donoho’s Anne Marie Harris 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals.

Briarwood’s Margaret Harbor reached the championship match in the girls No. 4 singles flight. She defeated Arab’s Ellie Johnson 6-1, 6-1 in the first round and Westminster Christian’s Elle Paparella 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

From there, she beat Saint James’ Haley Huff in three sets with a 10-6 third-set tiebreaker before a straight-set loss in the title match.

Briarwood’s Alexis Carter finished runner-up in the girls No. 5 singles bracket with three wins, first over Orange Beach’s Kendall Courtney in straight sets, then over Sardis’ Landrey Johnson in three sets and finally over Deshler’s Aleece Hollis in straight sets in the semifinals.

Indian Springs’ Sohana Caplash reached the quarterfinals in the girls No. 1 singles bracket with a pair of 6-1 victories over Montgomery Catholic’s Maria Schwarz.

In boys doubles, Rhett Shaddinger and Baker Cullum secured the No. 3 championship for Briarwood. The Lions started the day with a 6-0, 6-0 win in the first round, and a straight-set win over Indian Springs’ Gus French and Wu in the second round paved the way for a 6-3, 6-1 win over Wilson’s Mason Kirk and Freddy Franks in the semifinals.

Shaddinger and Cullum then defeated Deshler’s Nathan Turnbo and Mason Tidwell 6-1, 7-6 in a crucial finals match that helped tip the team title to the Lions’ favor.

Briarwood’s Martin and Perez made the boys No. 1 doubles finals. They started off the tournament with straight-set wins over Douglas’ Wesley Norton and Garret Weaver and Boaz’s Anderson Lambert and Isaac Faucett.

From there, the duo split the first two sets with John Carroll Catholic’s Will Magruder and Tim Meehan in the semifinals before winning the third-set tiebreaker 10-5 to advance to the championship match.

Briarwood’s Jahraus and Sarah Wolf reached the No. 2 girls doubles semifinals. They defeated Providence Christian’s Logan Barron and Alice Pittman 6-3, 6-1 in the first round before a pair of 6-1 set wins over Sipsey Valley’s Jenna Whatley and Savannah Butt in the quarterfinals.

Briarwood’s Liam Sanders and Logan Rich made the boys No. 2 doubles quarterfinals with a straight-set first-round win over Randolph’s Paul Lee and Rudhra Patel.