Rebels tennis teams finish as state runners-up
MOBILE -- They would have preferred blue trophies, but each of the Vestavia Hills High School tennis teams returned home with Class 7A runner-up red maps following the state tournament, which was held April 23-24 at the Mobile Tennis Center.
The boys team fell just short to McGill-Toolen, as McGill totaled 41 points to edge out the Rebels by three points. Vestavia’s 38 points was 11 clear of defending state champ and third-place finisher Mountain Brook.
“It was definitely one of the most competitive things I’ve either been a part of or really seen,” said fourth-year Vestavia boys coach Nathan Miles.
On the girls side, Mountain Brook pulled off the repeat of the state title with 50 points. The Lady Rebels were second with 37 points.
“It was tough,” said coach Shelley Sumner. “It came down to pretty much the last matches on the second day and it could’ve gone either way with several of the matches and we came up a little bit short.”
The state tournament is split into six singles brackets and three doubles brackets, and points are awarded accordingly for each match victory.
The boys team claimed three individual state titles, with Clay Castleberry and Robert Hill winning at the No. 4 and No. 5 singles slots, respectively, while Robert Smith and Jack Kimbrough won as the No. 3 doubles tandem.
“The competitive spirit from our team was just absolutely amazing,” Miles said. “It’s kind of hard to even describe how tough and how resilient the kids were. With that kind of pressure on them, they did not falter.”
Miles said that No. 1 singles player Alex Lloyd set the tone for the tournament, despite receiving a tough draw. In the first round, Lloyd lost the first set, 6-3, to James Clemens’ Taiga Koyama. But he rallied to win the second set, 7-5, and battled to a 6-2 win in the third to take the match.
“Our kids were inspired by that moment and echoed that in big and small ways all across the rest of the next two days,” Miles said.
No. 3 singles player Gray Moore and No. 2 doubles team Moore and Hill advanced to the finals for the Rebels. Kimbrough at No. 6 singles and the No. 1 doubles pair of Lloyd and Castleberry reached the semifinals. Lloyd and Sam Smith at No. 2 singles were quarterfinalists.
The boys improved one spot on its third-place finish at state last year and reached state this year by winning the Class 7A, Section 3 tournament at Spain Park the week prior.
The girls boasted one singles champ and two doubles champions. Nicole Jebeles took the title at No. 5 singles, while a set of sister tandems took home top honors in doubles. Nicole and Kristen Jebeles won No. 2 doubles, while Georgia and Kate Morros won at No. 3.
It was the Lady Rebels’ first trip back to state since winning the title in 2016.
“From the beginning until the end, we definitely improved tremendously,” said Sumner, who just completed her third year as coach. “It took us awhile to work out partners and positions and trying to put everybody in the right place where they needed to be.”
Georgia Morros and Kristen Jebeles advanced to the finals in No. 2 and 6 singles, respectively, while Harper Anderson at No. 3 singles and the duo of Maggie Nelson and Anderson at No. 1 doubles reached the semifinals. Nelson at No. 1 singles and Margaret Saar at No. 4 were quarterfinalists.
Each program has four seniors to replace next season, as Hill, Castleberry, Lloyd, Jimmy Creamer, Anderson, Saar, Georgia Morros and Mary Katelyn Anthony all graduate this spring.
Tim Hewitt assisted with the boys team and Andrew Bryant helped coach the girls.