The Lauderdale County girls’ tennis team made AHSAA history on Tuesday by becoming the first public school to win a Class 1A/3A state tennis title since the championships were split into divisions in 1978. The Tigers won two singles titles and all three doubles championships at the Mobile Tennis Center to wrap up the crown.

Lauderdale County earned 53 points to take the title, topping St. James with 32 points. Providence Christian was third with 23 points.

St. James’ boys swept all six 1A/3A singles titles and all three doubles titles to finish with 65 points. A three-way tie developed for second place between new competitor Alabama School for Cyber Technology and Engineering of Huntsville and long-time tennis powers Indian Springs and Providence Christian. All three had 18 points.

“I’m on Cloud 9, to be honest,” Lauderdale County coach Haleigh Woodard said. “This has been a whirlwind.”

Woodard, who played at Lauderdale County and returned in 2018 as coach, pointed to the AHSAA competitive balance rule and her volunteer coach as factors in the team’s victory.

“I played for Lauderdale County from 2008-13 and if we won sectionals, it was just as big as winning state to us,” Woodard said. “We knew if we got to state we’d get mowed down by Montgomery Academy.”

Montgomery Academy has 18 state titles from 1971-2017 – 17 in the 1A/3A or 3A classification.

Competitive balance is the system the Alabama High School Athletic Association uses when private school teams reach a threshold based on a points system attached to success in championship play over the past two years. Tennis teams are among those that move up one classification if they score more than 7.0 points, where they are assigned 0.5 points for the round of 16, 1 for quarterfinals finishes, 2 for semifinals and 4 for finals.

“We’ve been to state every year since I’ve been coaching,” said Woodard, “and I think this is the first year that competitive balance has evened out and it was the first time we had a shot. We were the only public school in the tournament.

“I’d like to recognize Russ Tanner because he has been my assistant coach and he’s really worked with them on skills. Russ played at Lauderdale County, too, and has two daughters on the team. He’s got a regular 9-to-5 job where he works at home and then he does all this with us for free.”

Woodard said a few of her student-athletes occasionally attend tennis camps at a local country club, but none have private tutors.

“It took a lot of hard work, and this is a great group of girls and a very talented group,” she said. “We have one senior, Sara Childress, and she won both her singles and doubles even though she was sick. I’m pretty sure she has strep throat, but she powered through and played incredible today.

“Jilly Tanner and Anna Paige Davis are juniors and they have really helped by stepping up and leading our team.”

Jilly Tanner and sophomore Molly Burchell teamed up to win the No. 1 doubles title. Lizzie Tanner and Mallory McConnell won at No. 2 and Davis and Childress won the No. 3 doubles crown. McConnell and Childress won singles titles at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.

Lauderdale County had two state runners-up in singles (Jilly Tanner at No. 1 and Burchell at No. 4) and two semifinalists in Davis and Lizzie Tanner, at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

On the boys’ side, St. James did not lose a set in any of the championship matches – winning 60 games and losing only 24 games in the finals. Senior Toba Rios won the No. 1 singles crown, beating Michael Vandiver of Decatur Heritage, 6-2, 6-1.

Class 6A play is scheduled to conclude today with 4A/5A and 7A beginning play on Thursday with finals set for Friday.

AHSAA CLASS 1A/3A GIRLS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS

Team scoring: Lauderdale County 53, St. James 32, Providence Christian 23, Indian Springs 14, Whitesburg Christian 13, Mars Hill Bible 8, St. Luke’s 8, Bayshore Christian 4, Decatur Heritage 2.

Tuesday’s 1A/3A Championship Match Pairings

Girls’ Singles

No. 1: Ella Bentley, St. Luke’s, def. Jilly Tanner, Lauderdale County, 6-1, 6-1

No. 2: Elizabeth Trembly-Loy, Indian Springs, def. Stella Sponseller, St. James, 6-2, 6-0

No. 3: Owen Thompson, Providence Christian, def. Karly Bailey, St. James, 6-2, 7-5

No. 4: Lauren Roberson, Mars Hill Bible, def. Molly Burchell, Lauderdale County, 6-3, 5-7, 10-2

No. 5: Mallory McConnell, Lauderdale County, def. Annie Hart, Providence Christian, 6-0, 6-0

No. 6: Sara Childress, Lauderdale County, def. Addison Seale, St. James, 6-3, 3-6, 10-7

Girls’ Doubles

No. 1: Jilly Tanner/Molly Burchell, Lauderdale County, def. Sohana Cupkish/Rosa Schwebel, Indian Springs, 6-0, 6-0

No. 2: Lizzie Tanner/Mallory McConnell, Lauderdale County, def. Owen Thompson/Caroline McDuffie, Providence Christian, 6-2, 6-0

No. 3: Anna Paige Davis/Sara Childress, Lauderdale County, def. Raleigh Court/Davis Wilsford, St. James, 7-5, 1-6, 11-9

AHSAA CLASS 1A/3A BOYS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS

Team scoring: St. James 65, Alabama School of Cyber Technology (ASCTE) 18, Indian Springs 18, Providence Christian 18, Covenant Christian 17, Faith Christian 9, Decatur Heritage 6, Shoals Christian 6, Bayshore Christian 0.

Tuesday’s 1A/3A Championship Match Pairings

Boys’ Singles

No. 1: Toba Rios, St. James def. Michael Vandiver, Decatur Heritage, 6-2, 6-1

No. 2: Joshua Harvey, St. James def. Elliott Storey, ASCTE, 6-0, 6-1

No. 3: Danny Trock, St. James def. Fritz Mann, Indian Springs, 6-3, 6-3

No. 4: Ryan Jeong, St. James def. Zack Bell, Covenant Christian, 6-0, 6-1

No. 5: Jason Jeong, St. James def. Jake Hall, Covenant Christian, 6-0, 6-0

No. 6: Grayson Eaves, St. James def. Henry Wilder, Indian Springs, 6-2, 6-1

Boys’ Doubles

No. 1: Toba Rios/Joshua Harvey, St. James def. Elijah Mitchell/Joshua Goode, Faith Christian, 6-1, 6-2

No. 2: Danny Trock/Ryan Jeong, St. James def. Elliott Storey/Buddy Watson, ASCTE, 6-0, 6-3

No. 3: Jason Jeong/Grayson Eaves, St. James def. Whit Rickard/Creel Capps, Providence Christian, 6-0, 6-4

ONLINE RESULTS

Girls: https://ahsaa.com/2023-Girls-State-Tennis-Playoff-Brackets

Boys: https://ahsaa.com/Sports/Tennis/2023-Boys-State-Tennis-Playoff-Brackets