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The Cougars scored seven points to win the boys division for the fifth straight year and the Lady Cougars scored four points to win the girls division for the second straight year.
Misner and his wife Jennifer moved to Brookhaven in 2000 after spending 13 years in Greenville. Their youngest son, Stuart, helped continue the tradition of Brookhaven High School tennis with four state championships and two team titles before David Misner resigned to concentrate on his teaching duties at Brookhill in 2005. Misner, who has coached at Belhaven College in Jackson and Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, decided to get back into coaching when Gray called him last fall. It was a good match.
"We've had a great year," said Misner, who replaced Alan Taylor, who resigned as the Brookhaven Academy high school coach and also the teaching pro at Brookhaven Country Club to take a job in Birmingham. "I coached All-Americans at Belhaven and the National Player of the Year at MUW and it is more fun coaching high school kids.
"It is a privilege coaching these kids. We didn't play enough matches (seven) to get a feel how to tweak the lineup to have the best shot as repeating as boys and girls champions, but we did it a few weeks before district and it worked out."
"Coach Misner has done a good job with us. He is always saying positive things and encouraging us," said Hickman, who was ranked No. 40 in the boys 14s singles in the South last year. Hickman is getting private lessons from David Misner's oldest son, David, a former high school state champion and college coach who recently took a teaching pro position in Madison.
Hickman is the son of former BHS football coach Andrew Hickman.
Brookhaven Academy seniors Emily Ryan and Katie Beth Case lost in the finals in No. 1 girls doubles and Brookhaven Academy senior Rosemary Moak narrowly lost a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 decision in the semifinals in No. 1 girls singles. Ryan and Case won a doubles title last year. Moak won a singles title as a freshman and reached the singles final as a sophomore and junior.
In addition to winning the two state team titles Wednesday, Brookhaven Academy appears on its way to winning the MPSA Class AA All-Sports Award for the third time in the past five years.
"We take a lot of pride in winning the all-sports trophy and winning both titles today helped us pick up a lot of points toward winning it again," Gray said. "We won boys basketball, finished third in girls basketball and reached the semifinals in boys soccer this year."
The Cougars also captured the District 4-AA football crown.
