SOUTH BEND — A great start helped the Brandywine tennis team four-peat at the Division 4 regional tournament at Leeper Park Thursday.

The Bobcats went undefeated in opening round matches and then dropped just two matches in the second round, which allowed Brandywine to finish strong with 19 points to advance to the state tournament for the ninth time in the past 12 years.

The state finals are June 1 in Novi.

“We went 8-0 in the first round and 6-2 in the second round, so assistant coach Rich Robbins and I were hoping for a good finish in the finals, where we went 4-1 to hold off a solid and well coached Schoolcraft team,” said veteran Brandywine coach Joe Marazita. “The heat was a factor as it took its toll on some of our players, but we were able to overcome that as well. I was really proud of our entire team as our effort was great all day.”

Brandywine, Schoolcraft, Bridgman and Buchanan all advance to the state finals as they scored 10 or more points. Bridgman finished third with 12 and Buchanan fourth with 10.

Dowagiac, Berrien Springs, Coloma and New Buffalo failed to score any points at the regional.

The regional championship was the 10th for the Bobcats, who are now tied with St. Joseph for the most in the area.

Winning regional championships for Brandywine were Megan Schmidt (22-0) at No. 3 singles, Hanna Martin and Ava Moody (21-1) at No. 1 doubles, Lauren Srmek and Olivia Whitney (20-2) at No. 2 doubles, Carrigan Duffield and Alysa Marlin (22-0) at No. 3 doubles, as well as, Katie Stratton and Caitlin Stanger (21-1) at No. 4 doubles.

Kimberly Solloway was a runner-up at No. 2 singles and is now 18-4 on the season.

Buchanan’s Maya Schuhknect captured the No. 1 singles championship with a straight-set victory over Camille Bauer of Bridgman.

Division 3 regional

THREE RIVERS — For the second straight year, the Edwardsburg tennis team has qualified for the state finals by finishing third at the Division 3 regional hosted by Three Rivers High School Thursday.

Sturgis was the regional champion with 20 points, while Parma Western was second with 19 and the Eddies third with 18. Marshall was fourth with 17 points.

Edwardsburg’s Sarah Scheretie and Grace VanOverberghe were regional champion at No. 2 doubles with a 4-6, 6-3 and 6-3 win over Carly Holcomb and Rebecca Longman of Marshall.

The Eddies’ Margaret Brown and Elizabeth Brown were regional champions at No. 3 doubles as they defeated Marshall’s Kennedy Karns and Grace Underwood 6-3 and 6-3.