RIDGELAND – Stuart Misner, Lane Lofton and Judson Langston ofBrookhaven brought home state championships Tuesday but Shannoncaptured the Class 4A State Tennis Tournament team title at theRidgeland Tennis Center. Shannon amassed 17 points and defending 4Achampion Brookhaven scored 12 to finish runner-up on a warm andwindy afternoon. Shannon, moving up from 3A, won its fifth straighttitle.

Misner breezed through the 4A boys singles bracket. In thefinals he defeated Jordan Jones of Shannon 6-2, 6-0. In yesterday’ssemifinals, Misner scored a 6-2, 6-0 win over Stephan Tiebmann, aforeign exchange student from West Point.

“The Lord blessed the situation,” said Misner. “He’s the one whogot me this far. I think I played well enough to win.”

Misner did not lose a set this season. He is ranked No. 1 inboys 16s in Mississippi and No. 2 in the South. Last year he teamedwith Langston to win the boys doubles crown.

“I think Jordan was a little tired from the semifinals,” Misnerpointed out. “He went three sets.” Jordan was seeking a fourthstraight state singles title.

Misner, along with Lofton and Langston, and Sadie Corban ingirls singles; are Brookhaven juniors so the future looks brightfor the BHS squad. “We are like family,” said Misner. “We had agood year and it was a lot of fun.”

Many of Misner’s weekends have been spent playing the SouthernJunior Super Circuit in 18s. He has been to the nationals the lasttwo summers.

Lofton and Langston produced a winning combination. In thefinals, they beat Chris Purdom and Russ Johnson of Laurel 7-5, 6-2.Laurel finished third in team scoring with 8 points and St.Stanislaus/OLA was fourth with 7.

In the semifinals, Lofton and Langston beat Shannon’s CarlBallard and Adam Watson 6-0, 6-0.

Asked about the title match, Lofton said, “We had a rough firstset,” winning 7-5. “They played really well and we could haveplayed better.”

Lofton said, “I ate a few Skittles before the second set,” andwon impressively. He was runner-up in boys singles as asophomore.

“Lane can play well,” said Langston. “We held our serve and gotthe right breaks.”

In mixed doubles, Brookhaven’s Amanda Lynch and Sam Sonesfinished runners-up to Maria Presley and Brandon Harris of Shannon.Presley-Harris prevailed 6-3, 6-1 in a hard-fought struggle.

“Shannon has a tough team,” said Sones. He and Lynch have beenvarsity partners for three years.

Lynch agreed. “Shannon is strong in all areas. The girl(Presley) plays like a man.”

Sones plans to attend Mississippi College next year and Lynch isheaded for Ole Miss. They beat Florence 6-2, 6-2 in yesterdaymorning’s semifinals.

David Misner, Brookhaven’s first-year coach, said Shannon’soverall strength was decisive in the race for the team title.”Shannon is very strong. Their girls are tough. Our boys took downtheir boys.”

Misner, the teaching pro at the Brookhaven Country Club, saidthe season had been rewarding for him and his team. “I’m real proudof them. I love this team. They did every thing I asked them todo.”