Flagler Palm Coast boys, Spruce Creek girls capture Five Star tennis championships
DAYTONA BEACH — Aaron Lieberman knew the stakes entering the tiebreak, and then shattered the silence surrounding his court at the Florida Tennis Center with a ferocious roar. His clinching point in the No. 5 singles final secured Flagler Palm Coast's outright Five Star Conference boys tennis championship Friday afternoon.
The Bulldogs prevailed in four of the five singles brackets, and the team of Alex Berenblit and Josh Thorpe won in straight sets at No. 2 doubles. The Bulldogs tallied 17 points, four more than Spruce Creek, which began the tournament's second day one point off the pace.
Lieberman put an end to the Hawks' comeback bid and a share of the title with a 10-8 tiebreak triumph after splitting the first two sets with Joseph DeCilla.
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"I just tried to calm myself down and ignore everything that was going on," Lieberman said. "Put whatever happened in the past. I tried to play my game, and my coach gave me some good advice."
Spruce Creek won a head-to-head showdown with FPC last month at the beginning of the tennis season. The teams will square off again during districts in April, and potentially again in the FHSAA regional tournament.
Reigning conference champion Zane Ensminger scored wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for Spruce Creek, partnering with Demario Dawkins. Ensminger defeated FPC freshman Andrew Shkotkin 6-0, 6-2 in the No. 1 final.
"Andrew's a great opponent," said Ensminger, a junior who won 26 of 28 singles matches last year. "My forehand, I was dictating with that for sure. He was really good on the defense, but I was able to finish most of the points with the forehand."
Adam Stochel-Polubiec, Berenblit, Thorpe and Lieberman were FPC's winners in singles competition.
Spruce Creek's girls stormed to another Five Star victory by earning the maximum 21 points available. Giselle Adekunle, Kayla Wheeler, Melissa Perman, Campbell Bundza and Keilana Irvin dropped a combined nine games from their 10 singles sets.
Adekunle, a sophomore, teamed with Irina Tabacila and fended off a battle from FPC's top pair of Marina Carlisi and Tatiana Leontayva for a 6-4, 7-5 victory at No. 1 doubles, as well.
"I think we can definitely make it to states," Adekunle said about her team. "It won't be easy with other schools this year, but if we really focus I think we can really do it."
Five Star Conference Boys Tennis Championships
Team Scores
Flagler Palm Coast — 19
Spruce Creek — 15
Seabreeze — 8
University — 5
New Smyrna Beach — 1
DeLand, Deltona, Mainland, Pine Ridge — 0
No. 1 Singles
Ensminger (Creek) def. Shkotkin (FPC) 6-0, 6-2
No. 2 Singles
Stochel-Polubiec (FPC) def. Dawkins (Creek) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (3)
No. 3 Singles
Berenblit (FPC) def. Nord (Creek) 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 Singles
Thorpe (FPC) def. Reece (Sea) 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 Singles
Lieberman (FPC) def. DeCilla (Creek) 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (8)
No. 1 Doubles
Ensminger/Dawkins (Creek) def. Shkotkin/Stochel-Polubiec (FPC) 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 Doubles
Berenblit/Thorpe (FPC) def. Nord/O. Stout 6-2, 6-2
Five Star Conference Girls Tennis Championships
Team Scores
Spruce Creek — 21
Flagler Palm Coast — 13
New Smyrna Beach — 8
Seabreeze — 7
DeLand, Deltona, Mainland, Pine Ridge, University — 0
No. 1 Singles
Adekunle (Creek) def. Carlisi (FPC) 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 Singles
Wheeler (Creek) def. Swierczysnki (FPC) 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 Singles
Perman (Creek) def. Leontayva (FPC) 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 Singles
Bundza (Creek) def. Diermeier (NSB) 6-0, 6-2
No. 5 Singles
Irvin (Creek) def. Bharucha (FPC) 6-1, 6-0
No. 1 Doubles
Adekunle/Tabacila (Creek) def. Carlisi/Leontayva (FPC) 6-4, 7-5
No. 2 Doubles
Wheeler/Perman (Creek) def. Swiercynski/Bharucha (FPC) 6-0, 6-0
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school tennis: Flagler Palm Coast, Spruce Creek battle at Five Star
