As Warren Central’s turnaround season draws to a close, the Vikings will head east on I-20 for one last tournament.

Warren Central will send eight players — all ranked No. 8 or higher in the 16-player brackets — to Jackson for the 2016 MHSAA Class 6A individual tennis competition at the Parham Bridges Tennis Center. The single-elimination tournament begins Monday at 1 p.m. and continues through Wednesday.

Representing the Vikings in boys and girls singles are Alex Velazquez and Lauren Davis.

The remaining Vikings come in pairs as the team of Brent Stiles and George Wilkerson look to place in boys doubles, Joseph Jabour and Amanda Boleware in mixed doubles, and Alexa Jeffers and Olivia White in girls doubles.

For Jeffers and White, this is the first time the duo will compete in the individual state competition.

“Although our girls, it’ll be the first trip to the state tournament, the other young ladies that will be representing the other teams we’ve played them, especially the really good ones. I know they’re excited and we’re excited for them to play,” said assistant coach Steve Summers, who added that the level of competition Jeffers and White faced during the season prepared them for their first-round match with Olive Branch’s Emma Kate Virden and Savanna Geeslin.

Jeffers and White have faced their foes from Olive Branch in the first round of the Class 6A team playoffs.

The match was intense throughout as the WC duo took the first set only for Olive Branch to force a tiebreaking third set. Jeffers and White fell short, losing 6-4, 7-5, 11-9.

Unlike Jeffers and White, the state tournament is nothing new for the boys, with the exception of William Wooten.

“Our boy athletes have all participated in the state tournament,” Summers said. “Now we haven’t had a victory yet so I’m looking forward to getting a few first-round victories this year.”

Aside from the girls doubles match, Summers had little knowledge of the remaining first-round opponents.

Velasquez will face Biloxi’s Jacob Butera, and Davis will play Tia Pearson of Horn Lake. If Davis wins, she’ll face top-seeded Megan Humphreys of Madison Central in the second round.

Wilkerson and Stiles will play Gulfport’s Jonathan Switzer and Jay Warren in boys’ doubles. In mixed doubles, Jabour and Boleware will take on John Dennis and Brooklyn Meadows from Northwest Rankin.

“We should have a winnable first round matchup (in girls doubles),” Summers said. “Because we had such a successful regular season, we got top eight seeds in the state tournament for the individuals, which means your first round opponent should be winnable.”

Typically, tennis matches are scored based on the performance of each team’s players and events. Beginning Monday, however, Warren Central won’t have the luxury of other events making up a win.

Summers said recent practices have been tailored to get the players ready to represent themselves.

“Going over the basics, making sure they’re ready to serve and ready to play,” Summers said.

The Class 5A tournament will also begin Monday at Parham Bridges, and Vicksburg High will have several players involved.

Jared Bell will take on Saltillo’s Alan Rivera in a first-round boys’ singles match, and Faye Valerio will open the girls’ singles tournament against Center Hill’s Mikalia Coleman.

In boys’ doubles, the Gators will double up with two teams in the bracket. Christopher Albert and Jonathan Boyd will face the Germantown tandem of Alex Usher and Wallace Brewer, while Rashad Fisher and Chance Williams play No. 3 seed Ryan Mounce and Gordon Whitwell of Oxford.

Vicksburg’s mixed doubles team of Jon Bantugan and Sierra Shelton has a tough draw, as they play No. 2 seed Trey Wegner and Rianne Taylor of Stone County.

Vicksburg does not have a girls’ doubles team in the tournament.