The Charles Henderson High School men’s tennis team secured a place at the state tournament with a second place finish at the sectional tournament on April 19 thanks to a strong performance in singles play.

The Trojans finished second behind Ozark, who had 51 points on the day, with 37 with Valley (20), Greenville (nine) and Eufaula (zero) trailing behind.

The Trojans opened up singles play in the first seed with Patrick Jackson defeating Greenville’s Ben Snead 6-3, 6-0 before going on to beat Greenville’s Daniel Dick 10-0.

Devantez Jackson would take the next Trojan singles point in the third seed with wins over Greenville and Ozark as well, winning a close final 7-6, 6-1.

The final singles win for the Trojans would come in the fifth seed courtesy of Quay Austin, who won over Valley 10-5 and followed with a win over Ozark 6-2, 7-5.

The Trojans dropped three singles matches in the second, fourth and sixth seeds, with Jonathan Carswell falling 10-4 in the final round after beating Ozark 6-2, 6-2, Tim Foster falling to Greenville 10-3 and Shaun Alverez falling 10-6 to Valley.

The Trojans had a bit more trouble in doubles play and brought in only one win, dropping the second and third seeds to end the day.

The Trojans won the second seed of doubles with a combination of Devantez Jackson and Tim Foster, who beat Ozark 6-3, 7-5.

The Trojans dropped two in doubles play with Patrick Jackson and Carswell falling in a three set match 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 while Quay Austin and Alverez fell to Valley 11-9.

The Trojans will go on to play in the tournament at Montgomery, which will be held at Lagoon Park on April 26 and 27.

Play will begin at 8 a.m. and last until all matches have been completed.