St. Aloysius took its third consecutive Julie Abraham Memorial Tournament title Saturday, defeating Warren Central High School 5-2 at Halls Ferry Park.

The tournament featured competition by four schools, with Vicksburg High School and Natchez Cathedral joining St. Aloysius and Warren Central in the competition. Cathedral defeated VHS to win the tournament’s consolation bracket and finish third.

St. Aloysius coach Rick Shields said the 22nd edition of the tournament operated under a different format this year, going from a round-robin tournament to a draw.

“Under the draw, the top seed played the fourth seed and the third seed played the second, with the winners facing each other for the championship,” he said.

Looking at his team’s finish Shields said, “The kids played great. This was more of a team effort than last year. There was a lot of competition and some very tough matches. The score was 5-2, but it was a lot closer than that. Some of those matches could have gone either way.”

One of the keys to his team’s win, he said was “the girls played better. They always play well, but this time they stepped up and played much better.”

St. Al’s Aaron Mathis and Alexa Baldizon repeated as champs in the boys and girls singles competition. Mathis defeated Warren Central’s George Wilkerson, 6-2, 6-3, while Baldizon defeated Frederica Ardiuzzoia of Warren Central, 7-6, 6-1.

Mathis said it “felt great” to win a second singles title, but echoed his coach, saying, “it was a team effort.”

In doubles, St. Al and Warren Central split the matches in the boys and girls competition, with Michael Foley and Austin Mathis defeating Warren Central’s Baxter Richardson and Sherman Stuart, 6-2, 6-0 to win the first division. The Warren Central team of Alex Velazquez and Jack Richardson defeated Luke Eckstein and Jackson Oaks from St. Al, 6-1, 6-2 to win the second division.

Kori Vessel and Allie Falls of St. Al defeated the Warren Central team of Rachel Rhett and Avery Lynn Liddell, 7-5, 6-1 to win girls doubles division 1, while Warren Central’s Mattea Mobley and Michaela Mobley defeated St. Al’s Anna Stewart Piazza and Elese Piazza, 6-2, 6-3, to win the second division.

Warren Central won the mixed doubles competition with Joseph Jabour and Amanda Boleware defeating St. Al’s team of Grayson Parmer and Mary Peyton Peek, 6-1, 6-3.

In the consolation bracket, Cathedral’s Mark Isles defeated Jared Bell of VHS, 6-3, 6-1, while Carolyn Williams of VHS won the girls singles by defeating Cathedral’s Leslie Dooley, 6-3, 6-1.

VHS also won the mixed doubles, with Charlene Figueroa and Chris Green defeating Cathedral’s Courtney Carter and Jackson Carpenter, 6-2, 6-1.

VHS won the boys doubles division 1, with Walter Boyd and Mason Boyd dropping Cathedral’s Silas Whitaker and R.J. Grimes, 6-2, 6-2. In division 2, VHS’ team of Chris Albert and Will Robbins tied with Cathedral’s Evan Webber and Will Sandel, 6-3, 6-7, requiring a tie-breaker which was won by Cathedral, 9-11.

Cathedral won both girls doubles matches, with Wesley Callaway and Natalie Fletcher defeating VHS’ Ada White and Olivia White, 6-2, 6-1, to win the first division match, and Grace White and Paige Foster defeating Amy Dixon and Destiny Jones, 6-2, 6-1 in the second game.