DAYTONA BEACH — The team portion of the Seabreeze Sandcrabs’ season ended on April 21.
They lost to Gainesville 4-1 in the boys tennis regional semifinals at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. They closed with a record of 6-4 after picking up titles in the Five Star Conference Tournament and the District 6-3A Tournament.
“The highlight was definitely Five Star,” junior No. 3 singles player Tej Patel said. “Winning the Five Star championship, watching Jordan Anthony win in our final game to win by one point against Spruce Creek. That was definitely the highlight of our year — and all of us celebrating on the court. That was fun.”
Although, he said, the celebration for their district crown was even rowdier.
And that event is why their campaign isn’t completely over.
After claiming district championships last week, junior JJ Martin will head to states in the individual No. 1 singles bracket. He and senior Hunter Shuler also captured first place in No. 1 doubles at districts, securing another state berth.
The achievements completed season-long goals for the duo. Their wins came after falling just short of district titles the past two seasons.
“Everything went right at districts in doubles for us,” Martin said. “I don’t think we’ve ever played that well as a pair. And I think we did just because of how motivated we were to try to make states at least once.”
Shuler added: “Going into tennis (season), I told myself that your one goal for this year is to get to states, no matter how you do it.”
Having those spots already wrapped up helped Tuesday’s team loss sting a little less.
Against Gainesville, the Sandcrabs lost in No. 1 singles, No. 3 singles and both doubles matches. Junior Ben Upchurch earned their lone win in No. 5 singles. Shuler’s match in No. 2 singles and junior Jordan Anthony’s contest in No. 4 singles did not finish before the Purple Hurricanes reached the four victories necessary to move on.
The Class 3A state tournament is set for April 29 through May 1 at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs.
“Losing, even to hard opponents, is a lesson to be learned,” Shuler said. “And going into states with our experience and just having to fix up tiny things now, I think we’ll be as ready as we ever will be.”
Spruce Creek boys and girls advance to region finals
Both Spruce Creek groups are moving on.
On April 20, the boys defeated Atlantic Coast 4-2 to advance to the region finals. The Hawks won in No. 1 singles (Raimey Miral), No. 3 singles (Indigo Stout), No. 5 singles (Brayden Kim) and No. 1 doubles (Miral and Stout).
On April 21, the girls followed with a 4-0 rout of Oakleaf. They triumphed in both doubles matches, with Giselle Adekunle and Khloe Akopian collecting a No. 1 doubles win and Irina Tabacila and Kyla Milwee doing the same in No. 2 doubles. Adekunle and Akopian also won their No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches to close the day.
The girls will host Creekside in the region finals on April 23. The boys will face the winner of Wednesday’s battle between Buchholz and Tocoi Creek.
Matanzas boys sweep way to region finals
The Matanzas Pirates worked efficiently past the Fleming Island boys in the region semifinals. They went on the road and dispatched the Golden Eagles 4-0.
Matanzas improved 16-0 with the victory.
As a result, the Pirates will square off with Ponte Vedra, the same squad they finished behind in the district standings, in the region finals on April 23.
No. 1 singles player Daniel Patsula and his No. 1 doubles partner, Adam Stochel Polubiec, already clinched invitations to the Class 3A state tournament by winning district championships.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Regional tennis roundup: Seabreeze falls; Spruce Creek, Matanzas move on
Reporting by Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
