DAYTONA BEACH — The boys Five Star tennis title came down to the No. 4 singles match between Seabreeze’s Jordan Anthony and Spruce Creek’s Aiden Cappiello.
It was simple. If Cappiello won, the Hawks tied the Sandcrabs 16-16 and a tiebreaking meet would take place at a later date. If Anthony won, Seabreeze would prevail 17-15 for its first Five Star boys tennis title since 2016.
Naturally, Cappiello and Anthony split the first two sets, and it came down to a 10-point tiebreaker with a host of parents, teammates and coaches spectating at the Florida Tennis Center on Saturday, March 7.
Anthony established a commanding 5-2 lead in the first half of the tiebreak, and a comeback wasn’t in the cards for Spruce Creek. Anthony took the tiebreaking set 10-7, and his teammates rushed the clay courts in celebration.
“It feels so surreal to win in doubles and singles, and that singles one just coming down to the wire when our team needed it,” Anthony said. “Because without that, we wouldn’t win. It just felt great. I’m just so happy that we could win.”
But it wasn’t all bad for Spruce Creek.
On top of finishing as the boys runner-up, the girls won their fourth consecutive Five Star title without dropping a single match, marking 84 consecutive victories at the local tournament.
“There’s obviously a lot of pressure when you sweep three years in a row. We know what’s on the line,” Spruce Creek coach Jeremy Davies said. “So sometimes it’s difficult because you’re expected to win … And it got a little close there at No. 3 singles, but a lot of tenacity from our freshman to get it done and get the win.”
“We’ll see if we can get that to a triple-digit win streak next year.”
Giselle Adekunle (No. 1), Khloe Akopian (No. 2), Kyla Milwee (No. 3), Sophia Calderwood (No. 4) and Sage Day (No. 5) won the Hawks’ girls singles titles. The pairs of Adekunle/Akopian (No. 1 doubles) and Milwee/Calderwood (No. 2 doubles) took home the doubles titles.
There was more parity in the boys brackets, as representatives from three different schools won championships.
Tej Patel won at No. 3 singles and Ben Upchurch won at No. 5 for the Sandcrabs to help clinch the title with Anthony’s singles victory. Patel and Anthony also won gold in No. 2 doubles as well.
Spruce Creek’s Raimey Miral was the Hawks’ lone boys singles champion, doing so in the No. 1 singles slot. He and teammate Indigo Stout also took home the No. 1 doubles crown.
Nico Herrera won the No. 2 singles title for University in straight sets as the only player in the singles championship matches that didn’t attend Seabreeze or Spruce Creek.
“It feels incredible. It feels really good,” Herrera said.
While Herrera left with a gold medal around his neck and Spruce Creek’s girls team claimed the Five Star trophy once again, Seabreeze will relish in its first team Five Star tennis championship in a decade.
“It’s been 10 years, and we have all the respect for Spruce Creek. They have a tremendous program,” Sandcrabs coach Tom Kelly said. “And to sneak by them, that was ecstatic. They knew what was at stake, and most of them are juniors, so they’ve grown up the last two, three years of high school looking up to Spruce Creek.”
“It’s like American hockey beating the Russians. Maybe not that much,” Kelly joked.
Five Star Conference boys tennis results
Five Star Conference girls tennis results
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Seabreeze, Spruce Creek split Five Star Conference tennis titles
Reporting by Zach Allen, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
