State tennis: St. Pete ousts Auburndale girls, Lakeland boys in Class 3A

Roy Fuoco, The Ledger
·2 min read
Auburndale's Peyton Battilla hits a backhand shot during her No. 1 doubles match against St. Petersburg on Monday in the Class 3A girls tennis state tournament at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs.
Auburndale's Peyton Battilla hits a backhand shot during her No. 1 doubles match against St. Petersburg on Monday in the Class 3A girls tennis state tournament at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS — Auburndale's Peyton Battilla had the closest matches among the Polk County boys and girls on Monday, but in the end, all the county tennis players saw their seasons end on the first day of the state tennis tournament.

St. Petersburg eliminated both county teams as its girls defeated Auburndale, 5-0, and its boys defeated Lakeland, 5-0, at the 2022 FHSAA State Tennis Tournament at Sanlando Park.

In the girls match at No. 1 singles, Tate Keber defeated Battilla, 7-5, 6-3. Battilla won back-to-back games early in the first set to take a 3-2 lead and led 5-4 before Keber won three straight games to take the set.

Nearly all the games in the two sets went to deuce but Keber's power game proved to be the difference.

In the other two singles matches that were completed, Emily Hoyt defeated Madison Newbern, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 2, and End Dzebo defeated Marianella Torres, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 4.

St. Petersburg took a 2-0 lead into the singles matches after winning both doubles matches. At No. 1, the two teams battled point for point in the first set before Hoyt and Keber prevailed over Battilla and Newbern, 7-5, 6-2.

At No. 2 doubles, Dzebo and Adriana Saballos defeated Ali Spencer and Maria Nakashige.

"I'm very proud of them," Auburndale coach Kevin Mulling said. "We drew a very tough opponent. They're a very good team. They will have an excellent chance to go deep. I'm looking forward to coming back next year. The girls got a great experience, and hopefully that will inspire them to work hard in the offseason."

This was the first time the Auburndale girls have played in the state tournament as a team.

Lakeland's Sam Reeder hits a backhand shot during his No. 1 doubles match against St. Petersburg on Monday in the Class 3A boys tennis state tournament at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs.
Lakeland's Sam Reeder hits a backhand shot during his No. 1 doubles match against St. Petersburg on Monday in the Class 3A boys tennis state tournament at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs.

In the boys competition, St. Petersburg lost just eight games in five matches, half of which came against Lakeland's Sam Reeder in the first set of No. 1 doubles

Reeder battled Peter Keper in the first set and trailed 5-4. He had a couple of chances at game point that could have tied the set before Keber prevailed for a 6-4, 6-0 win.

At No. 2 singles, Anton Betta defeated Luke Peterson, 6-0, 6-0, and Emerson Bishop defeated Hunter Hitchcock, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 5.

In doubles competition, Peter Kepter and Betta defaced Reeder and Matthew Fuentes, 6-1, 6-0, and Zachary Zayas and roger Wang defeated Hitcock and Miles Jeffares, 6-1, 6-1.

Roy Fuoco can be reached at roy.fuoco@theledger.com or at 863-802-7526. Follow him on Twitter: @RoyFuoco.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: State tennis: St. Pete ousts Auburndale girls, Lakeland boys in Class 3A