The Brookhaven High tennis teams will host the Long Beach Bearcats today at 11:30 a.m. in the second round of the MHSAA 5A Playoffs.

The match will take place at Brookhill, which was the site of the Panthers first round win on Monday against East Central.

The single elimination format means it’s do-or-die for the Panthers and the young team was definitely up to the task against ECHS on Monday.

Ole Brook won all seven courts from East Central, but the matchup wasn’t completely without drama.

The first point on the board for BHS was scored by seventh-grader Cohen Leggett in boys’ singles. Leggett had little trouble in eliminating his opponent to earn the win.

Both boys’ doubles courts were equally as dominating for the Panthers.

Juniors Robert Adcock and David Sones quickly took care of business in their match and were followed shortly after by the duo of senior Logan Case and junior Jeremiah Layton who brought in a third point for BHS.

The girls’ doubles teams were just as effective as freshman Caroline Kilpatrick and junior Lucy Allen cleared their court followed by the pairing of juniors Sarah Todd Adcock and Lilly Gray who also scored a victory.

Those wins clinched the overall match and guaranteed BHS would move on to the next round.

The mixed doubles team of sophomore Allie Grace McNeill and freshman John Sones wasted little time in adding the sixth point to the Panther’s total.

It was the girls’ singles match that presented the most drama on Monday.

The match that started first was the one that ended last as junior Anna Grace McCreary gutted out a third-set tiebreaker in front of a huge crowd of BHS fans. Her point made it a clean sweep for the Panthers to the delight of all of the fans who had stayed on the edge of their seats while cheering her on at the end of a three-hour match.

The Brookhaven High tennis teams are coached by Stephanie Triplett and Maddie Hickman. The Panthers won Region 5-5A and are competing again Long Beach in the MHSAA 5A team playoffs.

All 12 team members will play in the MHSAA individual state tournament on April 27-28 in Oxford.

Last season the Panthers made it to the championship of the team bracket before losing to Lafayette High in the 5A finals.

The winner of the BHS and Long Beach match will meet the winner between West Jones and Vancleave High in the 5A team semifinals. The 5A team championship is scheduled for April 21 at Halls Ferry Park in Vicksburg.

By Jeff Richardson, Special to The Daily Leader