2023 Long Beach High School Tennis Season, April update
TEAM UPDATE: The LBHS Bearcats Tennis team finished their regular season with an amazing 11-1 record, defeating perineal tennis power houses like Biloxi High, Stone High, St. Stanislaus/Our Lady Academy, and Pass Christian High. Their only loss being a closely fought match at Gulfport High School coming down to a 3rd set tiebreaker in Boys Doubles as the deciding factor. Having swept their district opponents, LBHS earned the 1 seed and a first round bye in the MHSAA team playoffs.
High school tennis is both a team and an individual sport, so while the Bearcats are preparing to face their opponent in Round 2 of the team playoffs, they competed in the Class 5A, Region 7 Individual Tournament. At this event, players compete to see who will attend the Class 5A individual tournament in Oxford, MS. The top two teams in each position will play in the tournament to determine who are the best players in Class 5A their position in the Mississippi. After a day-long tournament, Long Beach won every position in the tournament, and with the top two in each position advancing the team will be taking 12 members of their team to the two day MHSAA individual tournament.
LBHS CLASS 5A, REGION 7 INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
Boys Singles – Nick Dulaney, 1st place
Girls Singles – Ada Shirk, 1st place
Boys Doubles – Caleb Solang & Easton van Norden, 1st place
Boys Doubles – Stokley Sawyer & Henry Sawyer, 2nd place
Mixed Doubles – Alex Hailes & Sammy Wilson, 1st place
Girls Doubles – Jenna Shirk & Wilhelmina Vall, 1st place
Girls Doubles – Kenyah Lacour & Bella West, semi-finalist
WHAT’S NEXT: The MHSAA team playoffs is a two week tournament, with a win or go-home
format. As Round 1 takes place on April 3rd, the Bearcats, having earned the 1st round bye,
wait patiently to see who between Gautier and Wayne County High Schools they will be hosting for Round 2. With there only being 4 rounds total to see who will win the South State title, every match is intense and important with the teams not holding anything back. The South State winner will take on the winner of the North in Oxford on April 24, 2023 for the overall Class 5A championship!
Come on out and help the Bearcats keep home-court advantage and cheer them on as they
play Round 2 on Wednesday April 5th at the Long Beach High School Tennis Complex at 230p!
MHSAA Team Championship: https://www.misshsaa.com/2023/03/23/2023-class-5a-team-tennis-bracket/
REGULAR SEASON RESULTS:
FEB 13 Monday Pass Christian Home WIN
FEB 15 Wednesday Biloxi Home WIN
FEB 2 Friday Picayune (district) Home WIN
FEB 28 Tuesday Hancock Home WIN
MAR 2 Thursday Gulfport Away LOSS (3-4)
MAR 7 Tuesday St. Patrick Away WIN
MAR 8 Wednesday St. Stanislaus / OLA Home WIN
MAR 10 Friday East Central Home WIN
MAR 13 Monday Stone Away WIN
MAR 16 Thursday Resurrection Home WIN
MAR 17 Friday West Harrison (district) Home WIN
MAR 22 Wednesday St. Stanislaus / OLA Home WIN
MAR 29 Wednesday District Tournament Home COMPLETE
APR 5 Wednesday Round 2 Playoffs Home
TEAM MEMBERS:
SENIORS:
Stokley Sawyer (Captain), Caleb Solangi, Timothy Stanley, Kendall Dunn
Ada Shirk (Captain), Samantha “Sammy” Wilson, JaneClaire King, Wilhelmina Vall, Kenyah
Lacour
UNDERCLASSMEN:
Alex Hailes, Nick Dulaney, Luke Dulaney, Easton van Norden, Braydon Meadows, Trent Rishel,
Henry Sawyer
Marlie Rath, Jenna Shirk, Bella West, Lexie Griffith, Madelyn Nguyen
BACKGROUND: Long Beach High School competes in Class 5A, district 7 of the Mississippi
High School Activities Association (MHSAA).
Matches include Boys and Girls Singles, Boys Doubles 1 & 2, Girls Doubles 1 & 2, and Mixed (1 Boy, 1 Girl) Doubles. Each individual match consists of a best of 3 set format with the 3rd set as a super (10 point) tie breaker. With a total of 7 varsity individual matches played, the winner of the overall match is the team that wins at least 4 individual matches.
The LBHS Bearcat Tennis team works to build upon their success of last season through the
return of 12 varsity players, including 8 seniors, and with the addition of Head Coach Courtney Ulrich, the team is poised to make a deep run to the state championships.
POINTS OF CONTACT
Head Coach
Courtney Ulrich
228.669.2247
Assistant Coach
Tash Solangi
228.342.0539
Assistant Coach
Erik Johnson
erik.johnson@lbsdk12.com
