Pensacola Catholic’s Ephron and Sullivan Win 1A State High School Titles
Pensacola Catholic High School’s Chris Ephron, who was unseeded, defeated #2 seed Ian Witmer of Palm Beach Gardens (Benjamin) 6-4, 6-1 to win the #1 singles position at the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) state championships on April 13-16, 2015.
Then, Ephron teamed with Danny Sullivan to win the #1 doubles title 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 over Austin Debruyne and Chris Tasker of Weston (Sagemont).
Catholic’s #2 doubles team of Kyler Fram and Reed Taylor also reached the final but were defeated by St. Stephen’s Episcopal. The Catholic boy’s team finished third overall.
Several other teams and individuals advanced to the state tournament as well. In the 1A division, Catholic’s Liz Nowak played in the girl’s individual singles and teamed with Milan Carro to play in the individual doubles. In the 3A division, the Niceville girl’s team finished 5th after winning the title in 2014. Niceville’s #2 doubles team of Megan Hovenden and Andi Vonhilsheimer lost in the finals after upsetting the #2 seed in the semifinals.
Also in the 3A division, Pensacola Washington’s Emily Dawson and Ft. Walton Beach’s Jillian Hobbs played in the individual singles while Dawson teamed with Mallory Lurate to play in the individual doubles.
Pensacola Washington’s Jacob Baehr and Ft. Walton Beach’s Jefferson Hobbs played in the 3A boy’s individual singles. Washington’s Cole Bernstein joined Baehr in the individual doubles.
in the 2A division, both the Gulf Breeze boys and girls teams played at the state tournament as well. #4 singles player Hayden Essary won a match and the #2 doubles team of Joel Boles and Essary won a doubles match. Panama City Arnold’s Davis Meeks won a match in the 2A Individual singles event. In the 2A girls individual doubles, Panama City Rutherford’s Sana Malik and Olivia Meadows participated.
Guarachi Wins 7th Professional Doubles Title at $25K in Jackson, Miss.
Whoriskey (left) and Guarachi
Destin’s Alexa Guarachi teamed with Caitlin Whoriskey of Boston, Mass., as the #4 seeds to beat the #3 seeds Jessica Moore (Australia) and Katerina Kramperova (Czech Republic) 6-7(4), 6-2, 11-9 to win the doubles title at the USTA Women’s Pro Circuit $25,000 Challenger in Jackson, Miss., on April 12, 2015.
The doubles title was Guarachi’s seventh of her career. Guarachi also beat the #2 seed Miharu Imanishi (JPN) 6-3 in the third. Guarachi had to withdraw from her quarterfinal singles match with a stomach virus.
13th Annual Pensacola Pink Ribbon Tennis Tournament April 23-25
Probably one of the most popular tennis events in Pensacola is the Pink Ribbon Tennis Tournament for breast cancer.
The 13th Annual event will be held at Roger Scott Tennis Center on April 23-25, 2015. This year’s event has filled with 192 players in a 64 compass draw doubles and another 32 compass draw doubles.
The entry for the tournament opened last month and was nearly filled in a day!
The event kicks off with a Calcutta tourney on Thursday evening featuring local pros and their three player teams.
A sample Pink Ribbon Silent Auction display from 2014
Pensacola Pink Ribbon 2014 Tournament
There is a massive Silent Auction tent and food and drinks everywhere throughout the tourney. All players are guaranteed at least four matches.
For more information, go to www.pinkribbontennis.com.
