Vanguard girls and Forest boys win MCIAC tennis championships
If the MCIAC girls and boys' tennis tournament, held Thursday and Friday at Tuscawilla Park in Ocala showed us anything, it's that there is parity on the Marion County tennis courts.
The two-day event saw five county schools competing for the girls' crown and six for the boys' title.
The girls' standings were neck and neck until the final match. One point separated the top three teams, with Vanguard eventually taking first with 15 points, West Port t in second with 14, and Forest third with 13.
"In my recent recollection, this is the closest girls' tournament we have had," said Lori Croy, Forest girls tennis coach for the past nine years.
Forest won the boys' competition with 17 points, followed by Vanguard (14) and West Port (10).
After earning byes in the first round, the Forest and Vanguard boys took the court on Friday afternoon. An upset loss for the Knights would be their foil.
"What's really spectacular about that it's not just the kids that play tennis 24/7," Vanguard first-year head coach Pam Copeland said. "Our number one goal is to build character, number two is to learn tennis, and number three is to learn about what it means to be on a team. Tennis is such an individual sport, but to stay and have all of these kids still here is what I really try to focus on. When you're part of a team, it's a whole different experience, and I think that's been the key to our success."
The county tournament went farther than stats and trophies. We'll go through storylines and champions from each team below.
How many all county members returned? Star-Banner girls tennis all-county team: Belleview's DJ Bennett is player of the year
Who returned form last year's all county Star-Banner all-county boys tennis: West Port's Tyler Leaird repeats as player of the year
Vanguard's 2022 state tournament run Vanguard boys come up short in tennis regional final, but two players qualify for state
Vanguard girls win first MCIAC title in three years
Sports are cyclical at all levels. Professionals are tied to contracts that could shift a team's power once a player reaches free agency. In high school sports, talented players are lost to graduation and other things that can be out of a coaches' control.
It's been at least three years since Forest lost the girls' county tennis tournament. It's been so long that coaches from the participating schools drew a blank on the last time Vanguard won a title.
"The wonderful thing about this tournament is you play high-quality teams, but only one of these teams is in our district," Copeland said. "As a coach, I got to see where the holes are in our game so that I can set up a practice so we can work on the things that gave us some trouble in this match."
Knights and Wolf Pack break tie
Every win on Friday afternoon caused a lead change between the county's top three girls' teams. The Wildcats slipped from a medal position when one of their girls became ill enough to forfeit her match.
That unfortunate incident opened a route to the season's most epic county tournament finish. Through six rounds of tennis, Vanguard and West Port were tied with 12 points apiece. The county title fell on the very capable shoulders of the No. 2 doubles partners.
The two duos traded sets until 8 p.m. Then the lights at the park turned off. Croy and the Vanguard staff hollered without skipping a beat, "to Fort King."
A 10-minute drive, 20 minutes of play, and 13 sets later, the Knights could breathe a sigh of relief. They secured a win in No. 2 doubles and clinched a victory.
Championship day falls on the first day of Ramadan
Thursday marked the first day of Ramadan. This is a time reserved for prayer, fasting, and several other practices in the Islamic tradition and it affected Vanguard's title run.
Freshman Saeed ElMallah began his championship round sluggishly. It was his second match on one of the hottest days of spring. Copeland spoke with her player about his energy level out of concern and shock. That's when he told his coach he was fasting.
"He's (ElMallah) out there and has no energy, so I'm like, 'Saeed, what's wrong?' and he said, 'I've been fasting,' " Copeland said. "Look, you either show me you've got some energy, or we're done."
The pep talk helped ElMallah turn his 5-2 deficit around in the match's second half. Seven grueling sets later, Vanguard celebrated its second individual title of the day thanks to ElMallah's perseverance.
Boys Singles
1: Harrison Schwartzburg (Forest) def. Raaghuv Nandur (Vanguard), 8-5
2: Dhru Patel (Vanguard) def Ryan Murray (Forest), 8-6
3: Nick Dessaint (Forest) def Karthik Ventrapragada (Vanguard), 8-6
4: Saeed ElMallah (Vanguard) def Zach Myers (Forest), 8-6
5: Ian Harrell (Forest) def Shane Hoang (Vanguard), 8-2
Boys Doubles
1: Harrison Schwartzburg/Ryan Murray (Forest) def Luke Riley/Adrian Lozano (West Port), 8-5
2: Zach Myers/Nick Dessaint (Forest) def Ellison Conrad/Ahimsan Sivasekaran (Vanguard), 8-5
Girls singles
1: Madison Molock (Forest) def Irene Bonilla Gomez (West Port), 8-0
2: Jordan Tico (West Port) def Ryleigh Gibbs (Vanguard), 8-3
3: Briana Garcia (West Port) def Kendall O'Connor (Vanguard), 8-5
4: Veronica Fargoso (Vanguard) def Shelby Luffman (Forest), 8-3
5: Jordan Nwakoby (Vanguard) def Chloe Kostowicz (Forest), 8-4
Girls doubles
1: Madison Molock/Evangeline Ryan (Forest) def Bonilla Gomez/Jordan Tico (West Port), 8-0
2: Veronica Fargoso/Ryleigh Cribbs (Vanguard) def Briana Garcia/Eden Thomas (West Port), 8-5
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Vanguard girls, Forest boys take first in Marion County tennis tournament
