Sharks, Leopards contend for 2A-5 crown

Four local programs, Central, Hernando, Nature Coast Technical and Springstead, will divide into postseason boys tennis action beginning Monday.

Here's a breakdown.

Leopards, Sharks: Collision course

NCT (12-3, 7-0 districts) and Hernando High (7-4, 3-3 districts) are part of the five-team, Class 2A, District 5 Tournament set for Monday-Tuesday at the Crystal River High School tennis courts.

The remainder of the field includes host Crystal River, Belleview and Alachua-Santa Fe.

Going in, it appears to be a three-horse field for two spots in the Class 2A, Region III semifinals set for April 20.

The 2A-5 winner will host a semifinal, while the 2A-5 runner-up travels.

Sharks: Favorites?

NCT appears to be the prohibitive favorite. The Sharks captured last year's Pasco County-dominated 2A-6 Tournament at Zephyrhills High.

But that's where the similarities end.

Last spring, NCT collected four titles en route to its second district championship under Head Coach Tom Brown.

But the circuit's top player, P.J. Watterson, is now serving at the U.S. Naval Academy. The No. 2 singles champ, Simon Toftegaard, died during a summer bicycle accident. Watterson and Toftegaard had teamed up for the No. 1 doubles crown.

That leaves one returning champ, junior David Cross, who won at No. 5 singles.

Junior Andrew Lund dropped his district final at No. 3 singles, finishing 2-1 in Zephyrhills, while junior Tyler Schwefringhaus went one-and-done at No. 4 singles.

This time, the Sharks enter districts with Schwefringhaus (9-4 overall) at No. 1, Cross at No. 2 (12-2), sophomore Zenon Kouts (a county-best 14-1) at No. 3, Lund at No. 4 (10-3) and a first-year starter, sophomore Josh Weaver, at No. 5 (5-4).

More importantly, NCT swept the regular season series against its toughest district competition, solving Crystal River (5-2 and 6-1) and Hernando (4-3 twice).

Yet, fifth-year skipper Brown isn't taking anything for granted.

"We won nine matches in a row before we dropped our last match (to talented Wiregrass Ranch by a thread, 4-3)," said Brown. "But we're coming in relaxed because of the dynamic of the new district.

"Hopefully, Cross, Kouts and Lund can get seeded (only the top two players in the seven events are seeded), after that we have to see how things play out," described Coach Brown. "I really don't see us as the favorites because the district has changed. The X-factor is the different district."

How critical is it for the Shark players to capture their first match?

"I told the kids, our season is not over if they lose," he said. "I feel fairly confident we'll be one of two teams advancing to regionals. I told 'em to play relaxed. If we play our game, we'll be fine."

Will there be a carryover from the loss to Wiregrass?

"We really battled Wiregrass," noted Coach Brown. "Even though we lost, I felt really good about how we played overall. The matches were a lot closer than the final scores."

Leopards: In the hunt

Hernando's title hopes rest on which team shows up.

During Head Coach Mark Latsko's first season, HHS played well twice but fell twice to archrival NCT.

Against Crystal River, HHS won the initial clash, 5-2, but dropped the return match by the same score.
HHS is expected to line up senior Chris Nyholm at No. 1 singles (11-0), senior Jordin Williams at No. 2 (5-6), sophomore Adam Larson at No. 3 (4-6), freshman Matt Noto at No. 4 (5-6), and senior Kevin Herbert at No. 5 (6-1).

Nyholm and Williams will team up at No. 1 doubles (10-0), while Larson/Noto at penciled in at No. 2 (7-3).

Nyholm is expected to win at singles and doubles. Nyholm, who did not play prep tennis last year, won at No. 1 singles as a sophomore and lost the No. 1 doubles finals.

The key for the Leopards appears to be Williams. He's the lone returning starter from last year's squad at districts, where he went 0-1 in singles and 1-1 in doubles.

Central: Tough sledding

Central and Springstead are long shots to have anyone reach the second day of the extremely difficult nine-team, Class 3A, District 5 Tournament that runs Tuesday and Wednesday at River Ridge Middle/High School.

River Ridge Head Coach Brian Hooker, whose team finished 12-3, sees 3A-5 as a four-team race.
"To me, Wiregrass and Lecanto are the favorites," said Coach Hooker. "We can hold our own with anybody, but we lost to Lecanto and Citrus (both by 5-2 scores)."

"This year, the quality is so much better," noted Coach Hooker. "I really think four teams can factor into this."

How did Coach Hooker sell this tourney to his kids?

"Beginning in their first matches, the kids have to concentrate on what they need to do," Hooker said. "If we play well, we've got an opportunity to advance. The key is playing well. If I had a magic number, I'd say we need at least three to reach the finals."

Central finished 2-8 overall and 2-6 in 3A-5 action. The Bears' lone winning record belongs to senior T.J. Armstrong, who is 8-4 overall, mostly at No. 2 singles.

For the Eagles, SHS began its rebuilding process under Doug Haskedakes finishing 4-10 overall. The Eagles were 4-4 at one point but after dropping the return match to archrival Central (4-3), SHS spiraled down losing its last six matches in a row.

On the young team, only junior Jared DeBusk enters districts with a .500 record (7-7). DeBusk and Matt Cermak are also a combined 4-2 at No. 2 doubles.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT - Florida High School Athletic Association's Class 2A, District 5 Boys Tennis Tournament.

WHO - Five teams in a single elimination format including: host Crystal River, Alachua-Santa Fe, Belleview, Brooksville-Hernando and Brooksville-Nature Coast Technical.

WHERE - Crystal River High School's tennis courts.

WHEN - Monday-Tuesday, April 12-13 (April 14 is a rain day). Play expected to begin at 8:30 a.m.

AT STAKE - Top two teams advance to the Class 2A, Region III semifinals on April 20. 2A-5 winner hosts regional semifinal while 2A-5 runner-up travels.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT - Florida High School Athletic Association's Class 3A, District 5 Boys Tennis Tournament.

WHO - Nine teams in a single elimination format including: host New Port Richey-River Ridge, NPR-Ridgewood, Hudson, Brooksville-Central, Spring Hill-F.W. Springstead, Wesley Chapel-Wiregrass Ranch, Land O'Lakes-Sunlake, Lecanto and Inverness-Citrus.

WHERE - River Ridge Middle/High School's tennis courts.

WHEN - Tuesday-Wednesday, April 13-14 (April 15 is a rain day). Play expected to begin at 8:30 a.m.

AT STAKE - Top two teams advance to the Class 3A, Region III semifinals on April 20. 3A-5 winner hosts regional semifinal while 3A-5 runner-up travels.