The Hoover High School boys and girls tennis teams competed at the Class 7A state tournament, with the girls finishing fifth in the team standings and the boys tying for second. Junior Hannah Hwangpo led the girls’ team, winning the No. 1 singles title by defeating Huntsville’s Mazie MacGrotty 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 in the championship match.

Boys’ Team Performance

The Hoover boys put together an impressive week, finishing tied for second in the team standings with 29 points behind champion Vestavia Hills. Senior Brady Conti and senior Diego Harris were the standouts, winning the No. 1 doubles title together. They beat Bob Jones’ Cam Watson and Nathan Chiu in the semifinals before taking the championship match over Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa’s Griffin Armstrong and Ryan Mathewson 7-6(6), 6-4.

Junior Shiv Jaikumar reached the No. 2 singles semifinals and teamed with eighth-grader Matthew Hwangpo in the No. 2 doubles bracket, where they won their opening match before falling to Vestavia’s Andrew Pipkin and John Brooks Harris in a tight three-set semifinal. Eighth-grader Matthew Hwangpo also had a strong singles run at No. 5, winning his opening match and reaching the final before falling to Montgomery Academy’s Bo Johnston.

Girls’ Team Performance

The Hoover girls finished fifth in the team standings with 9 points. Senior Alaina Sanders competed at No. 4 singles, winning her first-round match before falling to Huntsville’s Sophie Shearburn. Senior Irfa Porbanderwala lost her first-round match at No. 5 singles in three sets. Junior Anna Claire Cencula competed at No. 3 singles.

Hwangpo and Cencula teamed in No. 1 doubles, winning their opening match and reaching the semifinals before being eliminated by the eventual champions from St. Paul’s. Sanders and sophomore Alice Moon also competed in No. 3 doubles.

Original reporting: Hoover Sun — read the source article.