AHSAA TENNIS: MA boys finishes second in 7A; Barrera wins individual title

The Montgomery Academy boys tennis team finished behind Vestavia Hills in the Class 7A state tennis tourney. (Contributed)

MOBILE -- Freshman Duncan McInnes and senior Gabby Barrera won individual state championships and the Montgomery Academy boys’ tennis team finished as the Class 7A runner up after competing in the Alabama High School Athletic Association State Tennis Tournament at the Mobile Tennis Center on Friday.

McInnes, competing at No. 5 singles, won a hard-fought 6-2, 2-6, 10-8 victory over Hoover’s Shiv Jaikumar to win his first individual state title and keep the Eagles in second place in the standings.

Senior John Alford and junior Jackson Brown, also competing in the finals, lost to a pair of Vestavia Hills’ players as the Rebels repeated as 7A state champions. Alford lost to Vestavia’s Luke Bedwell 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles while Brown lost to Vestavia’s Andrew Pipkin 6-2, 6-2.

Alford and Brown, the Eagles’ record setting No. 1 doubles team, lost to Bedwell and Louis Kolettis in the semifinals while the No. 3 doubles team of Anton Yang and Bo Johnston lost their first match of the year to Parker Lui and Ben Cusmariu in a third-set tiebreaker 2-6, 7-5, 10-5.

Vestavia Hills won the 7A state title with 57 points, followed by Montgomery Academy (26), Florence (24) and Hoover (23). The Eagles, a Class 2A school competing in 7A because of Competitive Balance Factor, ended their season at 18-1, losing only to Vestavia Hills.

Barrera, competing at No. 1 singles on the Montgomery Academy girls’ tennis team, defeated Huntsville High’s Mazie MacGrotty 7-5, 6-2 to complete the season undefeated at 31-0 and win her third consecutive state championship.

At No. 5 singles, Alyssa Kaplan reached the finals before losing to Vestavia Hills’ Peyton Standifer 6-4, 6-2.

At No. 1 doubles, Barrera and Lola Campbell lost to Vestavia Hills’ Madison Standifer and Ansley Cox 6-0, 6-4, avenging a regular-season loss to the Montgomery Academy duo.

Vestavia Hills won the 7A state title with 57 points, followed by Huntsville (33), St. Paul’s Episcopal (23) and Montgomery Academy (20).