ALTAMONTE SPRINGS — With two clean sweeps, Lake Nona ended the Spruce Creek Hawks’ tennis season in the state tournament.
The Lions handled Spruce Creek’s boys and girls via 5-0 scores during the Class 4A quarterfinals on April 27 at Sanlando Park.
The Hawks’ girls club finished with a 12-9 record, along with Five Star, district and regional championships in tow. Their boys lineup was 8-5 with a region title.
Prior to this spring, the boys had not appeared in the team draw of the state tournament since 2023. This marked the girls’ second consecutive trip.
“Great, great season,” coach Jeremy Davies said. “Couldn’t ask for any more. To make the state quarterfinals, boys and girls, is incredible. Obviously, a tough draw. Hats off to Lake Nona.”
The closest Spruce Creek got was in the girls’ No. 1 doubles match. The Hawks’ duo of Giselle Adekunle and Khloe Akopian claimed the first set over Ashley Narath and Aspen Wooten, dropped the second and battled through a third-set tiebreaker that went all the way to 14-12, when the Lions snatched it.
Otherwise, Lake Nona emerged victorious in two sets in No. 2 doubles and Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles.
Monday brought a close to the high school careers of seniors Adekunle and Irina Tabacila. Both were four-year starters, and Adekunle spent three seasons as Spruce Creek’s top singles player. She never missed a state tournament.
“She’s literally a pioneer for the program, and she’ll kind of set the same trajectory at New College (of Florida) in their first year,” Davies said. “I have no doubt, with that professionalism she has on and off the court, she’ll set the legacy there.”
On the boys side, the Hawks fell in both doubles matches. The Lions also grabbed wins in No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles.
Monday was the first time any Spruce Creek boys, outside of No. 1 singles player Raimey Miral, played at states. Miral cracked the individual doubles bracket with partner Zane Ensminger as a freshman in 2025.
“Some schools never make it here,” Davies said, “and some of these guys are getting to say, ‘Oh, I got to play in the state quarterfinals.’”
The Class 3A and 1A tournaments are scheduled to commence on April 29.
“You just want to be here this week to compete at the end of the day,” Davies said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Spruce Creek’s 2026 tennis run ends vs. Lake Nona in state quarterfinals
Reporting by Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
