By Rubin E. Grant
Luke Schwefler doesn’t plan to play tennis in college, so that made what happened last Friday even more special for the Mountain Brook senior.
Schwefler beat Hartselle’s Reid Collins 6-1, 6-1 in the Class 6A boys No. 1 singles final, helping the Spartans win their second consecutive state championship and 28th overall in the 79th AHSAA State Tennis Championships at the Mobile Tennis Center.
The individual title was Schwefler’s third singles state crown but his first at No. 1. He won at No. 3 in 2021 and at No. 2 in 2022 but finished as runner-up at No. 1 in 2023.
“It’s tough to win No. 1,” Schwefler said. “It takes a lot of hard work, practicing and spending a lot of time on court. I’m so happy it turned out the way it did, especially being a senior.”
Schwefler also teamed with Max Gayden to win the No. 1 doubles title with a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Trinity Presbyterian’s brother tandem of Samuel and James Treadwell.
Schwefler is headed to Auburn for college but not to play tennis.
“I thought about trying to play in college, but I am going to just be a student,” he said. “I might play on a club team. This was my final high school match, so that’s what makes it special.”
The Spartans’ boys dominated the competition, winning five of the six singles titles and all three doubles titles to finish with 84 points. Hartselle was a distant second with 39 points and Spanish Fort third with 37.
“I’m so excited for our boys,” Mountain coach Susan Farlow said. “They were definitely dialed in and ready to compete. It was a great tournament for our boys.”
While the Mountain Brook boys won convincingly, the Mountain Brook girls had a much more difficult road to capture another crown.
Mountain Brook’s girls and St. Paul’s girls advanced to the doubles finals tied with 66 points each – after splitting the singles championships 3-3. The Spartans won No. 1 and No. 2 doubles championships while St. Paul’s won No. 3 doubles title, enabling Mountain Brook to claim the school’s 33rd state championship overall and its seventh straight title since 2017 by a slim 72-69 margin.
“There was a lot of pressure on the girls,” Farlow said. “Some may think we didn’t play our best, but they found a way to win. They’re champions and know how to compete when it matters.”
In the boys competition, Mountain Brook’s other singles winners were Guy Mitchell at No. 3, Gayden at No. 4, Hews Goodson at No. 5 and George Dumas at No. 6.
Farlow was pleased to have Goodson, a junior, on the team. He rejoined the program after training with Van Der Meer Tennis Academy in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, last year.
“The addition of Hews Goodson made our team stronger,” Farlow said. “I was excited to see him win.”
Trinity’s James Treadwell won the No. 2 singles title, beating Mountain Brook’s Thomas Austin 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-5 and was the only player other than a Spartan to win an individual state title in the tournament.
The Spartans’ other doubles winner were the duo of Guy and Thomas Austin at No. 2 and the tandem of Goodson and Dumas at No. 3.
Girls Bounce Back
The girls singles competition provided the shocker of the tournament and season with St. Paul’s sophomore Emma Jane Hamilton snapping Mountain Brook senior Pippa Roy’s unbeaten streak as a high school netter at 35 consecutive victories a 6-1, 6-4 win in the semifinals. Hamilton’s victory prevented Roy from becoming just the seventh female tennis player in AHSAA history to be a four-time state champion.
“Pippa had been nursing a wrist injury and wasn’t able to play in good matches late in the season and that hurt her in a sense in getting ready in tough matches before state,” Farlow said. “But that doesn’t take anything away from Emma. That girl played really well. I’m giving Emma all the credit.”
Hamilton went on to win the No. 1 singles title, beating Madison Academy’s Jaedyn Martin 6-3, 6-3 in the championship match.
Roy bounced back from the singles loss, teaming with senior Annie Lacey to knock off Hamilton and Emme Clement 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 1 doubles semifinals 6-4, 6-3 and then defeating McGill-Toolen Catholic’s Juliet Galla and Clare LaCour in the doubles final 6-3, 6-0.
For Roy and Lacey, it was their third straight Class 6A No. 1 doubles title. For Roy, it was her fourth. She teamed with Emma Karcher in 2021 to win the Class 7A No. 1 doubles title.
“Pippa is a champion,” Farlow said. “After she lost, she got refocused, and she and Annie said we’re not going to go out like this. They played fabulous tennis.”
Mountain Brook’s Ann Royal Goodson won the No. 3 singles title, Mae Mae Lacey won at No. 5, and Mary Jackson Darnall won at No. 6. The Spartans’ Annie Lacey was runner-up at No. 2 and Mary Neale Polk was runner-up at No. 4.
The Spartans’ Ann Coleman and Mae Mae Lacey won the No. 2 doubles championship, winning a back-and-forth match against Northridge’s Kate Thom and Alexandra Salekin 6-2, 2-6, 13-11 and securing Mountain Brook’s title.
Class 6A Results
Boys Team Scoring
1. Mountain Brook 84, 2. Hartselle 39, 3. Spanish Fort 37, 4. Northridge 30, 5. Trinity Presbyterian 28, 6. Briarwood Christian 23, 7. St. Paul’s Episcopal 20, 8. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 16, 9. McGill-Toolen Catholic 14, 10. Muscle Shoals 13, 11. Gardendale 11, 12. Mortimer Jordan 10, 13. Decatur 4, 14. Fort Payne 2, 15. Hazel Green 2, 16. Pell City 2
Boys Singles Finals
No. 1: Luke Schwefler, Mtn Brook d. Reid Collins, Hartselle, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2: James Treadwell, Trinity d. Thomas Austin, Mtn. Brook, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-5
No. 3: Guy Mitchell, Mtn. Brook d. J.C. Foster, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, 6-1, 6-1
No. 4: Max Gayden, Mtn. Brook d. Nash Thoms, Spanish Fort, 6-3, 6-2
No. 5: Hews Goodson, Mtn. Brook d. Lanny Wang, Spanish Fort, 6-2, 6-2
No. 6: George Dumas, Mtn. Brook d. Drew Claytor, Northridge, 6-1, 6-1
Boys Doubles Finals
No. 1: Max Gaydosh/Luke Schwefler, Mtn Brook d. Samuel Treadwell/James Treadwell, Trinity, 6-2, 6-1
No. 2: Guy Mitchell/Thomas Austin, Mtn. Brook d. Jack Miller/Nash Thomas, Spanish Fort. 6-1, 6-1
No. 3: Hews Goodson/George Dumas, Mtn. Brook d. Marc Cera/Zeke Priola, Hartselle, 6-1, 6-1
Girls Team Scoring
1. Mountain Brook 72, 2. St. Paul’s Episcopal 69, 3. Northridge 33, 4. Hartselle 30, 5. McGill-Toolen Catholic 29, 6. Muscle Shoals 25, 7. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 20, 8. Trinity Presbyterian 16, 9. Pell City 15, 10. Cullman 13, 11. Madison Academy 10, 12. Fort Payne 9, 13. Gardendale 6, 14. Briarwood Christian 6, 15. Pike Road 4, 16. Spanish Fort 2
Girls Singles Finals
No. 1: Emma Jane Hamilton, St. Paul’s d. Jaedyn Martin, Madison Ac., 6-3, 6-3
No. 2: Grace Swain, St. Paul’s d. Annie Lacey, Mtn. Brook, 6-3, 6-0
No. 3: Ann Royal Goodson, Mtn. Brook d. Emme Clement, St. Paul’s, 6-1, 6-3
No. 4: Pearce Graf, St. Paul’s d. Mary Neale Polk, Mtn. Brook, 6-2, 5-7, 10-3
No. 5: Mae Mae Lacey, Mtn. Brook d. Livy Ferguson, St. Paul’s, 6-2, 6-0
No. 6: Mary Jackson Darnall, Mtn. Brook d. Miller McLeod, Hartselle, 6-3, 6-1
Girls Doubles Finals
No. 1: Pippa Roy/Annie Lacey, Mtn. Brook d. Juliet Galla/Clare LaCour, McGill-Toolen, 6-1, 6-0
No. 2: Ann Coleman/Mae Mae Lacey, Mtn. Brook d. Kate Thom/Alexandra Salekin, Northridge, 6-2, 2-6, 13-11
No. 3: Livy Ferguson/Martha Teague, St. Paul’s d. Isabella Gautney/Carmen Williams, Muscle Shoals, 6-4, 6-1
