Central sends three to semis

The bottom half of Central High's singles lineup carried the Lady Bears as they took part in the opening day of the Class 3A, District 5 Tournament.

Though both its top two singles players and each of its doubles teams went down in their first matches Tuesday at River Ridge High, Central remains alive at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 singles.

"It pretty much ended up where I thought it would based on the draw from last night," Central Head Coach Sonya Burns said. "I was hoping we would have gotten another point in doubles, but it's pretty much where I thought it would be."

Junior Victoria Easler (No. 3), along with freshmen Stephanie Wert (No. 4) and Danielle Daly (No. 5) all survived their lone singles contest to advance to Wednesday morning's semifinals.

Easler defeated Springstead's Jaymie Mansfield, 6-2, 6-1. She faces the second seed, River Ridge's Angela Wellman, for a spot in the final.

"I played pretty well," Easler said. "My serves, they were really good. Everything else could have used work, definitely.

"...I'm just going to try my best (against Wellman)."

While Daly took out Ridgewood's Leanna Kotun, 6-2, 6-0, Wert downed Heather Kennedy from Leesburg, 6-1, 6-0.

"I do better when I don't think, just have fun," said Wert, who also went 0-1 at No. 1 doubles with Layla Schuster.

Like Easler, Wert and Daly will both have tough draws in the semifinals, with Wert facing top seed Jordyn Garcia from River Ridge and Daly second-seeded Radhika Gandhi of Lecanto.

"One is playing River Ridge, one is playing Wiregrass, one is playing Lecanto," Burns said. "That's three of the toughest teams. We're hoping for the best. You never know. Anything can happen, especially with 3, 4 and 5."

Schuster went 0-1 at No. 1 singles, while Brittany Wert finished 1-1 at No. 2. Brittany Wert and McKenzie Burns lost their only contest at No. 2 doubles.

The Lady Bears sit tied for fifth with seven team points, well behind River Ridge (16) and Wiregrass Ranch (14) for the top two spots that will advance to regionals.

Springstead did not capture a match in the tournament, officially ending its season.

Class 3A, District 5 Girls Tennis Tournament

1. River Ridge (RR) 16, 2. Wiregrass Ranch (WGR) 14, 3. Citrus (CIT) 9, 4. Lecanto (LEC) 8, 5. Central (CEN), Hudson (HUD) 7, 7. Leesburg (LEE) 4, 8. Ridgewood (RW) 2, 9. Springstead (SPG) 0

No. 1
Feeder round
Akshara Patel (LEC) over Layla Schuster (CEN), 6-0, 6-1.
First round
Nicola Wellman (RR) over Stephanie Dodd (CIT), 6-1, 6-0.
Maleana McIlvaine (RW) over Laura Paulavage (SPG), 6-3, 6-2.
Sarah Means (WGR) over Patel (LEC), 6-0, 6-0.
Gretchen Berisford (LEC) over Tara Frebert (HUD), 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.

No. 2
Feeder round
Brittany Wert (CEN) over Haley Smalt (LEE), 6-0, 6-1.
First round
Nadia Kahn (LEC) over Sabreena Cymbal (SPG), 6-0, 6-2.
Kari Fairbanks (HUD) over Sarah Labrador (CIT), 6-1, 6-0.
Tijana Subotic (RR) over Melissa Terranova (RW), 6-0, 6-0.
Elizabeth Means (WGR) over B. Wert (CEN), 6-0, 6-0.

No. 3
Feeder round
Paige Winters (HUD) over Adrianna Laidley (RW), 6-1, 6-0.
First round
Victoria Easler (CEN) over Jaymie Mansfield (SPG), 6-2, 6-1.
Hannah Still (WGR) over Winters (HUD), 6-0, 6-0.
Erin Davis (CIT) over Kim Riddle (LEE), 6-1, 6-2.
Angela Wellman (RR) over Katie Campbell (LEC), 6-1, 6-3.

No. 4
Feeder round
Katie Bonti (WGR) over Jessica Hall (SPG), 6-0, 6-0.
First round
Jackie Ear (CIT) over Caroline Keesler (RW), 6-1, 6-3.
Shannon Zasloff (HUD) over Zeel Patel (LEC), inj. default.
Stephanie Wert (CEN) over Heather Kennedy (LEE), 6-1, 6-0.
Jordyn Garcia (RR) over Bonti (WGR), 6-1, 6-3.

No. 5
Feeder round
Jade Vaca (WGR) over Lena Martone (CIT), 6-1, 6-3.
First round
Jessica Christianson (HUD) over Sommer Mims (LEE), 6-3, 6-4.
Danielle Daly (CEN) over Leanna Kotun (RW), 6-2, 6-0.
Radhika Gandhi (LEC) over Sara Fetter (SPG), 6-0, 6-0.
Taylor LaRoue (RR) over Vaca (WGR), 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.

DOUBLES
No. 1
Feeder round
A. Patel/Kahn (LEC) over Paulavage/Mansfield (SPG), 6-1, 6-0.
First round
Frebert/Zasloff (HUD) over Schuster/S. Wert (CEN), 6-1, 6-1.
Dodd/Labrador (CIT) over McIlvaine/Terranova (RW), 6-2, 6-2.
N. Wellman/Subotic (RR) over Berisford/Smalt (LEE), 6-0, 6-0.
S. Means/E. Means (WGR) over A. Patel/Kahn (LEC), 6-0, 6-1.
Second round
S. Means/E. Means (WGR) over Frebert/Zasloff (HUD), 6-0, 6-0.
N. Wellman/Subotic (RR) over Montalva/Schelstrate (CIT), 6-0, 6-0.

No. 2
Feeder round
Davis/Martone (CIT) over Fairbanks/Winters (HUD), 6-1, 6-0.
First round
Garcia/A. Wellman (RR) over Davis/Martone (CIT), 7-5, 6-2.
Campbell/Z. Patel (LEC) over Laidley/Keesler (RW), 6-2, 6-0.
Riddle/Kennedy (LEE) over Iza O'Neal/Katie Duguid (SPG), 6-4, 6-3.
Still/Bonti (WGR) over B. Wert/McKenzie Burns (CEN), 6-4, 6-2.
Second round
Garcia/A. Wellman (RR) over Campbell/Z. Patel (LEC), 6-1, 6-1.
Still/Bonti (WGR) over Riddle/Kennedy (LEE), 6-1, 6-0.

Central High's 3A-5 Individual Results
Singles:
Player W L PL
Layla Schuster 0 1 -
Brittany Wert 1 1 -
Victoria Easler 1 0
Stephanie Wert 1 0
Danielle Daly 1 0 -
TOTALS 4 2

Doubles:
Schuster/S. Wert 0 1 -
B. Wert/McKenzie Burns 0 1 -
TOTALS 0 2

Springstead High's 3A-5 Individual Results
Singles:
Player W L PL
Laura Paulavage 0 1 -
Sabreena Cymbal 0 1 -
Jaymie Mansfield 0 1 -
Jessica Hall 0 1 -
Sara Fetter 0 1 -
TOTALS 0 5

Doubles:
Paulavage/Mansfield 0 1 -
Iza O'Neal/Katie Duguid 0 1 -
TOTALS 0 1