One for the thumb: St. Andrew's boys tennis extends dynasty with another state title
The St. Andrew’s boys tennis dynasty has won one for the thumb.
Another boys state tennis title is coming back to Boca Raton as St. Andrew’s won its fifth straight FHSAA 1A crown with a 4-0 victory Thursday night over True North of Miami.
“We lost our No. 1 and 2 players from last year,’’ coach Reid Rafter said. “We had a group of kids who wanted to continue things and keep it moving. Not only did they keep it moving but we actually improved on what we did last year. They’re competitors. We built upon it.’’
The Scots’ dominance continued as three of the four matches were decided by a third-set match tiebreaker at the Seminole County facility. (in FHSAA state tennis, a 10-point tiebreaker is played rather than games).
“It was a tremendous amount of grit showed by our kids,’’ Rafter said. “It’s a ton of pressure and they don’t know how their teammates are doing. They know it’s up to them. I told them don’t rely on anyone else. Get the job done yourself. And they did, coming up so huge in the breakers.’’
The other three matches were not completed once the clinching fourth point was notched at third singles as freshman Rafael Bote rallied from a set down to defeat Caleb Chow 4-6, 6-1, (10-8).
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“The main key was staying consistent,’’ said Bote, a baseliner with a drop-shot game. “ He’s a a verr solid player. If I put one more ball on the court, I could tire him out and break through to his confidence. He dominated the first set. I was able to bounce back in the second and carry that momentum in the tiebreak.’’
As an 8th grader, Bote was fifth singles on last year’s title team. That was No. 4.
“It’s amazing I get to share the court with many great players before me,’’ Bote said. “The team’s aura brings positivity. We all push each other long because of all the years of winning.’’
Despite the official final count of 4-0, this one was razor close. In fact, St. Andrew’s was losing the three other singles matches when it was stopped after the clincher. Hence, if any of those three third-set tiebreakers went to the Miami school, St. Andrew’s could’ve been defeated 4-3.
But the Drive for Five was not to be derailed. At second singles, Julian Fente posted the only straight-set triumph with a 6-0, 6-1 crushing of Gabriel Valdes.
At first doubles, Fente and Nico Snyder topped the Chow Brothers 10-5 in the third-set tiebreaker. At second doubles, Ricardo Espaillat and Bote beat Krishang Badwal and Valdes 10-8 in the third-set tiebreaker.
There could be more hardware coming to Jog Road as Nico Snyder is in the finals of the boys singles individual event and Snyder-Fente are in the doubles final.
The girls team came close to a state title but couldn’t solve the True North puzzle. For the second straight year, the St. Andrew’s girls tennis team was upended in the final, 4-0. Previously, the St. Andrew’s girls had won six straight state titles.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: St. Andrew's boys tennis wins fifth straight state championship
