Check out the FHSAA 2A & 4A Tennis State Championships Results
High School tennis athletes from across the state gathered to compete in the Florida High School Athletic Association Tennis State Championships for 1A and 3A. Taking place in Seminole County at Sanlando, Red Bug Lake, and Sylvan Lake Park, the atmosphere was intense across all parks as teams vied for the top place.
Teams and players have been playing matches over the past few months to determine the best in the state. At the FHSAA Tennis State Championships there are Team and Individual brackets. As part of the Team Draw, the No. 1 line for each school will compete in the Team’s Individual bracket, where the winner will match up against the player that won the Individual bracket. The individual bracket features some of the best tennis players in the state whose team did not qualify for the State Championships. The winner of that match will become the Overall Champion for that specific class (Team’s Individual Draw winner against Individual Draw winner).
Class 1A Recap
In arguably one of the most competitive classifications in all high school tennis, 1A brought the fireworks.
On the Boy’s side, from the powerhouses of St. Andrew’s and True North Academy to the likes of Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Community School of Naples, Windermere Prep, Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, who all enter as undefeated, according to MaxPreps there are some great teams.
In the quarterfinals, St. Andrew’s and True North Academy handled business in a quick sweep, taking down Shorecrest and Florida High. Community School and Holy Trinity Episcopal also took care of their matchups, both winning in 4-2 fashions.
The Semifinals saw St. Andrew’s against Community School and True North against Holy Trinity. In the first matchup, Saint Andrew’s jumped out quick, behind doubles wins by Eric Snyder and Julian Fente, as well as Ricardo Espaillat and Rafael Bote. In singles, Eric, Rafael, and Ricardo dominated their lines to secure the 5-0 sweep and keep the team’s hopes for five straight State Championships alive.
True North and Holy Trinity featured some great tennis. True North got things started early with doubles win from the brotherly pair of Brennon and Caleb Chow, and Krishang Badwal with Gabriel Valdes. In No. 1 singles, Holy Trinity’s Federic Tu dominated the match, taking down Brennon 6-4, 6-0. However, True North battled back in lines 3 & 4, with Caleb and Krishang winning to secure a championship match against St. Andrew’s
There were tons on the line in the Championship as St. Andrew’s looks to get their fifth title in a row, while True North looks for their first in school history. Doubles was great to watch as all eight players involved left everything on the courts. Julian and Eric (St. Andrew’s) faced off against the brothers, Brennon and Caleb (True North). Brennon and Caleb struck first, taking the opening set 4-2. However, Eric and Julian came right back with a strong 4-2 set two win, forcing the tiebreaker. It started off with the pairs trading points, but the St. Adnrew’s duo rattled off a few in a row to take it 10-5. In Line No. 2, Ricardo and Rafael (St. Andrew’s) battled Krishang and Gabriel (True North) in a great match. The True North boys were hungry and took an intense opening set, winning 5-4 (7-1). But, the St. Andrew’s pair answered back forcing the final set. The two teams went back-and-forth, going point for point, but, it was Ricardo and Rafael who edged out a 10-8 win and go up 2-0. Julian Fente, in Line No. 2 dominated his match, winning 6-0, 6-1, putting St. Andrew’s on match point. Eyes turned to Line No. 3, featuring Rafael Bote and Caleb Chow. Caleb took the first set 6-4, but Rafael got the next one 6-1. The tiebreaker set was intense as neither wanted to drop the match. However, Rafael was able to find the last few points and win 10-8, giving St. Andrew’s their fifth straight State Championship.
St. Andrew’s won their fifth straight 1A Team Title. Photo Courtesy of FHSAA.
On the individual side of the court, Prithvi Sudhakar, from Out-of-Door Academy won his first two matches with ease, but ran into Samuel Uribe from Downtown Doral, and the two went to war. Samuel jumped out early to take the first set, but Prithvi wouldn’t go down easily, taking the next one. In the tiebreaker, it was back-and-forth, but ultimately, Prithvi jumped ahead and took it 10-5.
Eric Snyder of Saint Andrews overcame some ruthless matches to meet Prithvi in the Overall Singles final. It proved to be a tough matchup as both players went game for game. Eric fought to take the match 6-4, 6-4 and claimed the title in the end.
In doubles, Samuel, alongside his teammate Victor Ramos went on a run, winning their first two matches and facing off against Shrish Arun and Maksym Yevstakhevych from Academy at the Lakes. This was a tight match, but in the end Shrish and Maksym took both sets 6-4,6-4 to head to the Overall Doubles Finals. They matched up against Julian Fente and Eric Snyder from the State Champions of St. Andrew’s.
In the Overall Doubles final match, Julian and Eric gave Academy at the Lakes team of Shrish and Maksym a challenge and the St. Andrews team ultimately came out victorious with a 6-1, 6-2 win to clinch the title.
For the Girl’s draw, there were tons of storylines heading into the quarterfinals. St. Andrew’s looking to get revenge after losing for the first time in over six years. True North was looking for back-to-back titles, while Pensacola Catholic, Community School of Naples, and Master’s Academy all enter playing great tennis.
Business was handled by all four of these schools as St. Andrew’s, Master’s Academy, and True North swept their opponents, while Pensacola Catholic won 4-1. This set up St. Andrew’s against Master’s Academy and True North versus Pensacola Catholic.
St. Andrew’s dominated their match across every line. Naomi Williams and Alexi Cleveland didn’t drop a game in their two-set doubles win, while Giavanna Conde and Aree Greenfield only dropped one game to give St. Andrew’s a 2-0 edge. In singles it was much of the same. Naomi and Aree combined to drop just three games as the St. Andrew’s girls booked their spot back in the championship.
True North and Pensacola Catholic was a bit closer, but True North couldn’t be denied a chance to go back-to-back. Alba Martinez and Daniela Chica didn’t drop a single game in their 4-0, 4-0 doubles win, while Luciana Chica and Alessia Franco only lost one game, to help give True North a 2-0 lead. In Line No. 1 singles, Gabriella Goyins (Pensacola Catholic) and Daniela Chica (St. Andrew’s) were in a dogfight. The first set was crazy, with the two girls trading games left and right. It took a tiebreaker, where Daniela took a 7-5 win to go up a set. In the second set, Gabriella found her groove and took the set 6-2, sending it to a third-set tiebreaker. They went back-and-forth, taking points one-by-one, but Gabriella found two in a row to win 11-9 and cut the True North lead to 2-1. However, Luciana and Alba dominated their matches, each only dropping one game, and setting up True North to play St. Andrew’s.
Revenge was on the mind of St. Andrew’s as their run last year ended to True North, while they looked to claim their second title in a row. The No. 1 Doubles match was really close, where Daniela and Alba (True North) matched up against Naomi and Alexi (St. Andrew’s). The two teams traded off the first two sets, sending it to a tiebreaker. However, it was a one-sided final set as the True North girls ran away with it, winning 10-2. Their No. 2 Doubles team, Luciana and Alessia, dominated their match 4-0,4-0, to give True North a 2-0 lead. The True North girls rode that momentum as Alba and Luciana won their singles matches to secure their school’s second consecutive State Championship!
True North won back-to-back Girl’s 1A Team Championships. Photo Courtesy of FHSAA.
For the individuals, the singles side was run by Maria Navarro from Benjamin. She dominated her first match, where she didn’t drop a single game. In her second match, she faced Aleksandriya Dzheneva from Holy Trinity and the two were battling. In the end, Maria won both sets 6-2, 6-2. She rode that momentum into her third match and defeated Isabella Hartung (Trinity Prep) in a 6-4, 6-3 match and advanced to the Overall Finals.
Gabriella Goyins with Pensacola Catholic came through two tough matches to join Maria Navarro in the Overall finals. The championship match proved to be a great matchup as each player took a set, forcing them to play a tiebreak for the trophy. With a close tiebreak, Gabriella eventually overcame Maria with a 10-8 win in the tiebreaker to take home the title.
In Doubles, Maria teamed up with Milana Ronert and it was smooth sailing for the duo. They won their first two matches with ease. They then met up with Aleksandriya and her teammate, Thaila Wells, but much like in singles, Maria and now with Milana, was able to take down the girls from Holy Trinity and move on to the Overall Championship. The girls faced off against Alba Martinez and Daniela Chica, the team State Champions for True North Academy.
The Overall Girls Doubles Championship match proved to be a nail biter. The first set was game for game, ending with Maria and Milana taking the tiebreaker to get the set. Alba and Daniela weren’t going to let that tough tiebreak outcome take them out of the game and came roaring back in the second set to take it 6–1. This forced a 10-point tiebreak for the match. Alba and Daniela capitalized on their opportunity and took the match for True North with a 10-3 final tiebreak score.
FULL RESULTS:
- Boys Team Champions: Saint Andrew’s
- Boys Team Finalist: True North Academy
- Girls Team Champions: True North Academy
- Girls Team Finalist: Saint Andrew’s
- Boys Overall Singles Champion: Eric Snyder, Saint Andrews
- Boys Overall Singles Finalist: Prithvi Sudhakar, Out-of-Door Academy
- Boys Overall Doubles Champions: Eric Snyder & Julian Fente, Saint Andrews
- Boys Overall Doubles Finalist: Shrish Arun & Maksym Yevstakhevych, Academy at the Lakes
- Girls Overall Singles Champion: Gabriella Goyins, Pensacola Catholic
- Girls Overall Singles Finalist: Maria Navarro, Benjamin
- Girls Overall Doubles Champions: Daniela Chica & Alba Martinez, True North Academy
- Girls Overall Doubles Finalist: Maria Navaro & Milana Ronert, Benjamin
Class 3A Recap
The excitement continued into 3A as Florida’s best high schools and athletes were in action across the past few days.
For the Boy’s side of things, all eight teams entered with a great shot at winning it all, but extra eyes were on Barron Collier, St. Thomas Aquinas, Osceola, and Lake Buena Vista.
Osceola was riding a hot streak of matches and faced off against Ponte Vedra. The two split the doubles matches, putting all the focus on singles. Osceola’s Alessandro De Bernardo took the No. 1 Singles match, but unfortunately for them, that was the only match they took in singles. Grant Price, Christian Miller, and Connor Vernon were able to win their matches and give Ponte Vedra the 4-2 win.
Meanwhile, St. Thomas, Lake Buena Vista, and Barron Collier all handled business advancing to the semis, where Barron Collier faced Ponte Vedra and St. Thomas went against Lake Buena Vista.
For Barron Collier, they got off to a hot start in Doubles, with William Freshwater and Jonas Bauer taking a 4-2, 4-2 win, and Mark Taviloglu and Nicolas Fallon dropping just one game to help the team go up 2-0. Grant Price was able to take Line No. 2 for Ponte Vedra, but that was their last win as William and Mark won their matchups to give Barron Collier a 4-1 win.
For the other semifinal matchup, St. Thomas and Lake Buena Vista traded blows early. In the top doubles match, Lake Buena Vista’s Pete Tran and Wil Nguyen dominated, losing just one game. In Line No. 2 doubles, Philip Paun and Lucca Freitas for St. Thomas held their own in a 4-2, 4-2 win. Heading into singles it was 1-1 and in Line No. 1 Pete Tran (Lake Buena Vista) took down Blake Edwards of St. Thomas to give Lake Buena Vista the 2-1 lead. But, St. Thomas answered with a Line No. 3 win by Luca to even it. In line No. 2, it was back and forth with Connor Resser (St. Thomas) needing three sets to take down Wil Ngyuen (Lake Buena Vista). Sadly, in the middle of a third-set tiebreaker between Caio Lira (St. Thomas) and Sebastian Loth (Lake Buena Vista), the matched ended due to an injury, causing Sebastian to retire. The tiebreaker set was 5-1 in favor of Caio at that time.
St. Thomas matched up with Barron Collier for the State Championship. For Barron Collier, it was a one-side doubles affair as William and Jonas, and Mark and Nicolas took both matches off St. Thomas. Mark and Nicolas were pushed all the way to a third set, but won 10-7. In singles, Line No. 4 player, Philip Paun (St. Thomas) took down Nicolas Fallon, but that would be St. Thomas’ only win. Barron Collier’s William and Mark won Lines No. 1 & 3 to take the 4-1 victory and win the State Championship.
Barron Collier took down St. Thomas to win the Class 3A Boy’s Team Championship. Photo Courtesy of FHSAA.
For the individuals in 3A, Zach Hyatt battled his way to the Overall finals. He first took down Luca Torres-Sigler (Spoto) in an intense three-set match. The tiebreaker was nail-biting, but he took it 10-7. In his second match, Zach took down Kai Edwards (Sebastian River) 6-4, 6-2. His third match was challenging, as Eric Ormsby (Gulf Breeze) had been hot all week long. Eric took the opening set, in a close 6-4, but Zach battled back to win the second one in a tiebreaker with a score of 7-6 (7-4). The final-set tiebreaker was close, but Zach found his stride and won it 10-4 and advanced to the Overall Singles Finals.
Zach found his match in Pete Tran from Lake Buena Vista for the Overall Singles Final. Pete Tran got to the Overall singles final without dropping a set and only dropping 3 games in his two matches on the way to meeting Zach. Zach gave Pete more trouble in the final, but the outcome was ultimately in Pete’s favor. The final championship score for the Overall Singles was 6-1, 6-2 for Pete Tran with Lake Buena Vista.
Over in doubles, Reef Davis and Brayden Woods from Fletcher, looked good throughout their first few matches. The duo only dropped seven games in their first two, to set up a clash with Eric Ormsby and Morgan Leibowitz (Gulf Breeze). The Gulf Breeze duo got things started, with a 7-6 win to take the set lead. But, Reed and Brayden came right back with a strong second set win of 6-2. The third-set tiebreaker had everyone on the edge of their seat as the four players gave it their all. After much back-and-forth, Reef and Brayden won a few in a row to take it 11-9 and face off against Pete Tran and Wil Nguyen (Lake Buena Vista) in the Overall Doubles Championship.
Pete Tran and his partner Wil Nguyen continued the Lake Buena Vista hot streak by taking on Fletcher team Reef Davis and Brayden Woods in the Championship final. Reef and Brayden gave the team their all, yet Pete and Wil came away with the title, taking the match 6-1, 6-2 in the final.
Over on the Girl’s side, St. Thomas Aquinas entered seeking the 3-peat, while St. Petersburg, Barron Collier and Niceville, all looked to put an end to their streak.
Barron Collier and St. Petersburg matched up in the quarterfinals and it was all Barron Collier. They split the doubles matches but Barron Collier took all three singles matches to win 4-1. St. Thomas, Niceville, and Ponte Vedra all swept their opponents to reach the semifinals, which featured St. Thomas against Niceville, and Barron Collier versus Ponte Vedra.
St. Thomas was eager to get back to the finals and have a shot at their third title in a row. They took both of the doubles matches jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead. In singles, Niceville’s No. 5, Audrey Hill won her match 6-4, 6-1 to cut it a just a 2-1 lead for St. Thomas. However, Gabriella Alonso and Rowan Cicero, of St. Thomas, won their matches and booked their spot back in the finals.
Barron Collier in their semifinal against Ponte Vedra put on a tennis clinic. Chelsea Casapu and Katie Ruci, dominated the top doubles match for Barron Collier, winning 4-1, 4-0. Line No. 2 was close as Kate Freshwater and Madison Knoth (Barron Collier) needed three sets to take down Cait Sheenan and Madison Schramm-Santos (Ponte Vedra). In singles, Chelsea and Madison (Barron Collier) took down their opponents, to secure the 4-0 win.
Like the Boy’s side, St. Thomas and Barron Collier met up in finals, ready to leave it all on the courts. Everything started with excitement as both of the matches would be pushed to a third set. In Line No.1, Sophia Pacheco and Rowan Cicero (St. Thomas) were able to pull out a 10-5 win over Chelsea Casapu and Katie Ruci. For Line No. 2, Samantha Meyer and Gabriella Alonso (St. Thomas) had an insane opening set against Kate Freshwater and Madison Knoth (Barron Collier). The girls would not quit, and the first set went all the way to a 32-point tiebreaker, where eventually Samantha and Gabriella took it 17-15. Kate and Madison didn’t let that demoralize them and they dominated the second set, winning 4-2. The third-set tiebreaker was tense, with neither side wanting to give in. The final score was 10-5, with the girls from St. Thomas taking it and going up 2-0. Chelsea bounced back from her doubles loss and took the No. 1 singles match against Sophia Pacheco. But, St. Thomas’ Samantha won her Line No. 4 match to put them on match point. Eyes turned to Line No. 5 as Lisi Sinkoe of St. Thomas and Kate Freshwater of Barron Collier were battling. In the end Lisi won 6-4, 6-0 and gave the St. Thomas girls their third State Championship in a row.
St. Thomas Aquinas Girl’s won their third title in a row, taking down Barron Collier in the 3A Finals. Photo Courtesy of FHSAA.
For the individuals, Chukwunoneeru Smarty (Braden River) went on a crazy run to reach the Overall Championship. She took down Sarah McElrath (Gulf Breeze) in a quick 6-2, 6-0 and then went into a battle with Lillian Zhang (Chiles). Lillian took the opening set, but Chukwunoneeru battled back to force the tiebreaker-set and win it 10-7. Then, she faced Jessica McLean (Archbishop McCarthy), the top seed, and that was another three-set nail-biter. It was back-and-forth all match long, but in the end, Chukwunoneeru found her groove and won 10-8 to advance to the Overall Singles Finals against Tate Keber (St. Petersburg)
Chukwunoneeru brought the fire into her championship match and started off strong with a 5-0 lead in the first set before opponent Tate Kerber unfortunately had to retire due to injury.
In doubles, Sarah McElrath and her teammate, Ella Goodwin (Gulf Breeze) dominating early, as they won their first two matches. They then faced off with Sofiya Janos and Gloria Xiao (Land O’ Lakes), the top seed and they went back-and-forth. Sofiya and Gloria won the first set, but then Ella and Sarah took the second. In the final set, they traded points left and right, but Sarah and Ella took it 10-7 to make the Overall Finals.
Sarah and Ella would face Sophia Pacheco and Rowan Cicero (St. Thomas) in the Overall Doubles final. Sophia and Rowan came through a close match to get to the final. They split sets, forcing a tiebreaker that Rowan and Sophia would win 10-7 to join Sarah and Ella in the championship match.
In the Overall Doubles Final, both teams took a set forcing a tiebreaker. Since both teams were familiar with surviving tiebreaks during this year’s championships, it could have gone either way. Ultimately, Sarah McElrath and Ella Goodwin of Gulf Breeze came out victorious with a 10-7 win over the St. Thomas pair in the tiebreak taking the title.
FULL RESULTS:
- Boys Team Champions: Barron Collier
- Boys Team Finalist: St. Thomas Aquinas
- Girls Team Champions: St. Thomas Aquinas
- Girls Team Finalist: Barron Collier
- Boys Overall Singles Champion: Pete Tran, Lake Buena Vista
- Boys Overall Singles Finalist: Zach Hyatt, Fleming Island High School
- Boys Overall Doubles Champions: Pete Tran & Wil Nguyen, Lake Buena Vista
- Boys Overall Doubles Finalist: Brayden Woods & Reef Davis, Fletcher
- Girls Overall Singles Champion: Chukwunoneeru Smarty, Braden River
- Girls Overall Singles Finalist: Tate Kerber, St. Petersburg
- Girls Overall Doubles Champions: Sarah McElrath & Ella Goodwin, Gulf Breeze
- Girls Overall Doubles Finalist: Sophia Pacheco & Rowan Cicero, St. Thomas
