Battilla sisters lead Auburndale girls back to state tournament

Sibling rivalry became sibling teamwork for the Battilla sisters as they joined forces this season and led the Auburndale girls tennis team to the girls tennis tournament for the second year in a row.

McKenna Battilla and Peyton Battilla will be at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, and also team up at No. 1 doubles when the Bloodhounds open play on Monday at the 2023 FHSAA Class 3A Girls Tennis State Finals at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs.

Their teammates them in singles are No. 3 Camila Guilarte, No. 4 Madison Newbern and No. 5 Ali Spencer. Newbern and Guilarte also play No. 2 doubles.

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"I don't want to sound cocky, but we knew we were going to have a pretty deep team," Peyton said. "It was kind of expected for us. I feel like anything else would have been unexpected. We did what we were supposed to do. If we were going to do anything, this was the year we were going to do it because this is the strongest team we've ever had."

Peyton came into the season as The Ledger's reigning girls tennis player of the year. But even last year, she knew there was a chance she'd supplanted at No. 1 singles by her younger sister McKenna. Peyton, last year, raved about her sister's talent and ability at both tennis and soccer.

When McKenna reached high schools this school year, the duo formed a devastating duo on soccer field and were have been unstoppable on the tennis courts so far this season.

"I thought it was going to go rough," said Peyton, who will play soccer in college. "I knew we'd get the hang of it and be good together because we used to play doubles a lot when we were younger. But we'd argue all the time, couldn't finish a match because we were arguing, hit each other with rackets, hit each other with tennis balls. But it's been a really cool season. I think it's a really cool way to end my tennis career. We always have fun out there, always smiling, making jokes, laughing in the middle of points, after points. It's been a great time."

McKenna has been everything as advertised on the soccer field and on the tennis courts. She has played in juniors tennis tournaments so she was ready for the challenge of playing No. 1 singles. She said she learned to relax if she ever felt pressure in a close match.

This has been a special season, she said.

"It's fun playing with her," McKenna said. "It's going to be hard comparing any other season to it."

The Bloodhounds knew they'd be stronger with the addition of McKenna because that meant a player with No. 1 singles ability would be playing at No. 2 and a No. 2 player, Newbern, would b at No 3 this year.

However, Auburndale ended up being stronger.

Guilarte a surprise addition

Camila Guilarte, who is from Venezuela, was an unexpected addition to the squad. On most teams in the county, she'd be the No. 1 singles players.

So now, Auburndale has a player with No. 1 ability at No. 3, pushing Newbern to No. 4, which has given tremendous depth. Guilarte fit in with her new teammates quickly.

"I've been here for a short time, but these guys are great," Guilarte said. "I just some them. They made me feel good. They're so nice. They made me feel like I've grown up with them my whole life. We have good chemistry."

The top three player have been dominant. At the region meet, all three won in straight sets without dropping a game.

When someone said someone from Venezuela was coming in, I was like, oh my goodness, I don't know if she is going to fit in with us," Peyton said. "Camila, I can safely say, is one of my best friends. We come to practice together, we jam out in the car, we go out to eat, we share songs. We share different experiences of how we grew up. It's been so cool."

Added Newbern: "It's been like we've known her forever."

Auburndale coach Kevin Mulling said he didn't know about Guilarte until tryouts in January.

"Iv've been waiting for a surprise like that forever, but it has never happened," he said. "She could possibly be the third-best player in the county."

Auburndale stronger in 2nd trip to state

Auburndale should be ready for the state tournament this season with the combination of talent and state experience. This is the first trip to the state tournament for McKenna and Guilarte, although both players have plenty of tournament experience growing up. Newbern and Spencer are back for the second time, and know what to expect.

Peyton is returning to the state tournament for the third time. She qualified as an individual as a sophomore when she won the district title at No. 1 singles.

"The difference between last year and the year before for me was the year before I went by myself as an individual," she said. "It was a really cool experience, but I felt something was missing because I played with my team the whole season."

Peyton said it meant more to go to state last year as part of a team.

And with the experience, there should be no surprises.

"Being there, they got to look at what that level looks like, and it is clearly a very high level," Mulling said. "They know what they're up against. They know what they're about to see."

Auburndale opens in the quarterfinals against Wiregrass Ranch at 8 a.m on Monday.

"I just know we're going to go, we're going to give it our all and hopefully, we're going to do our best," Peyton said. "That's literally our goal this year is to do better than last year. Last year, wasn't that fun. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't fun. We have three solid girls who could play No. 1. With Maddie, who does her thing, and Ali has been playing tennis a long time, we have a solid team. It's deep."

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Battilla sisters lead Auburndale girls back to state tournament