Niceville girls tennis rolls region title. Can fully healthy Eagles win a state title?

NICEVILLE — Niceville senior Aspen Young was the lone Eagle left on the court Tuesday.

No. 5 singles player Audrey Hill had ushered in the Region 1-3A finals with a straight-set win, followed by quick work from No. 4 Isabella Faccini, No. 3 Annaliese Drab and No. 2 Samantha McOuat to eliminate visiting Chiles and deem both doubles matches moot.

Outside of a smile here or there, there was no celebration at the Eagle Ram Tennis Center. No fist pumps. No semblance of what, on paper, looked like a statement win.

Young, after all, was still on the court. With her in the lineup, Niceville is undefeated this season. So it was fitting that, on her birthday, the Eagles united to watch their senior leader usher in the most surgical 5-0 region championship win across the Sunshine State.

And she did in dramatic fashion, shrugging off a first-set loss to Lillian Zhang and two match points to announce to the 4A state field that, yes, Niceville is a state-title contender. Need proof? Just break down Tuesday's win.

At No. 2, McOuat is 11-7 in singles and 18-5 at the No. 1 doubles spot. The senior is nothing flashy, but she's consistent, extends rallies and frustrates opponents with her smooth groundstrokes and knack for avoiding unforced errors. She'll team with Young to make a run at the No. 1 doubles title at state after their district crown.

At No. 3, there's nothing Drab about Annaliese's play. She's 21-3 in singles and 18-3 at No. 2 doubles. Last year the sophomore was a counter-puncher — conservative in her approach as she let foes dictate the pace of play. This year, she's the aggressor. It showed in her district title win, and it showed in a 6-3, 6-1 win Tuesday that featured arguably more winners than any of her teammates.

At No. 4, Faccini is 16-2 in singles and unbeaten at No. 2 doubles. The freshman has a big forehand and keeps her foes guessing with a constant change of pace. Faccini has arguably the biggest ceiling of any Eagle and her biggest strength is her ability to make adjustments mid-match.

At No. 5, Hill 15-0 in singles and 26-0 overall. The sophomore, multi-sport athlete is conditioned to hit 50 balls in a row if she needs to. Compared to soccer, the running in tennis is nothing, so she's prepared to wear her opponent down. On Tuesday, the district champ made it her mission to be the first off the court with a victory. Her spotless record sheds a light on how hard it is to beat Niceville head-to-head.

"We're really deep," Hill said. "Even if we lose one of the top rounds, the rest of our team will come through at the bottom rounds."

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Finally, at No. 1 the birthday girl is 14-4 in singles and 17-2 at the No. 1 doubles spot. Telling was the senior's response to blowing a 7-1 lead in the tiebreaker against Zhang in a district final loss. Coming off that heartbreaker, she lost the first set 6-3 Tuesday before answering with a 6-4 win. In the tiebreaker, though, she fell behind 9-7 on the wrong side of two match points.

"I was like, 'Don't make an error,' " Young said, "I couldn't pull off because I would've lost, but I also knew couldn't miss a shot."

Zhang, already assured of a state trip after winning districts, dumped the first match point opportunity into the net on the 11th ball of the rally. She then double-faulted. Seizing the moment, Young finished off the match with a backhand winner up the line and an inside-out forehand winner.

"That felt nice," Young said. "I hadn't hit many winners the whole match, so to do that at 9-9 and then up 10-9, it was just a moment that I dug deep and pulled it out."

Again, Niceville is 20-0 with Young in the lineup. The Eagles will head to state next, set to face off against District 3 champion Ponte Vedra in the Elite 8 on Tuesday. No one though Niceville would win it all in 2024, but why doubt them now?

"Depth has been our strength for years, " Niceville coach Chris Poate said. "We have a great feeder program (in Okaloosa County champion Ruckel) and even our 6, 7, 8 would play varsity on most other teams. It just frees everybody up to play their game knowing their teammates have their back."

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Niceville girls tennis wins Region 1-3A FHSAA title