Spruce Creek girls duo goes on 4A tournament run, falls in state individual doubles finals
On April 1, Giselle Adekunle and Kayla Wheeler had never played doubles tennis together.
On May 1, the Spruce Creek duo finished as a finalist in the 4A state individual doubles draw.
The Hawks’ pairing fell in a third-set tiebreaker (7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (5-10)) to Doral Academy’s Stefany Zamora and Payton Seidle-Lubowitz Wednesday at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs. It was Adekunle and Wheeler’s only loss since they first teamed up April 12.
The match began Tuesday afternoon, and Spruce Creek grabbed the first set. It also was leading early in the second when inclement weather arrived and postponed the rest until Wednesday morning.
That’s when Doral made its comeback.
Adekunle and Wheeler pulled off similar heroics in their semifinals match Tuesday. They dropped the first set 6-4 and trailed 5-2 in the second set against Spanish River’s Jessica Popescu and Alexa Denisova.
But the Hawks rallied for five straight points to steal the second set and necessitate the third. The pairs traded points throughout the tiebreaker. Spruce Creek eventually sealed it 12-10.
Adekunle and Wheeler had breezed through their quarterfinals matchup against Cypress Bay’s Anika Ravi and Laura Kamil 6-1, 6-0.
Had they defeated Doral, the next match would've been against the winners of the FHSAA team tournament for the overall state doubles championship.
HIGH SCHOOL FLAG FOOTBALL: Timber Creek scores late TD, ends New Smyrna Beach's improbable playoff run
As the Hawks’ No. 1 singles player, Adekunle had played No. 1 doubles all season long. Her typical partner was No. 3 singles player and fellow sophomore Irina Tabacila.
But when Tabacila injured her shoulder in early April, coach Jeremy Davies rearranged his lineup. He moved Wheeler, a junior No. 2 singles player, from No. 2 doubles to the top team.
Adekunle and Wheeler responded by rattling off five straight wins ahead of the state tournament. They clinched a District 2-4A title and, thus, an automatic bid into this week’s draw. Spruce Creek did not qualify for states as a team after a loss to Nease in the regional finals last week.
Overall, Adekunle and Wheeler went 7-1 as partners.
Adekunle also participated in the girls individual singles bracket. She advanced to the semifinals against Seidle-Lubowitz, who won with back-to-back 6-2 sets.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Deltona rides pitching, early offense to district semifinal win over Seabreeze
On the boys side, junior Zane Ensminger competed in the singles and doubles slates. He won his singles quarterfinal but lost to Winter Haven’s Benjamin Saltman in the semifinals 6-1, 6-2.
In doubles, Ensminger and senior Demario Dawkins were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Stoneman Douglas’ Dennis Oliveira Jr. and Danny Platovsky in a third-set tiebreaker (5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (12-10)).
Spruce Creek was the lone local program to appear at the 4A state tournament this week. The other remaining Volusia-Flagler competitors will hit the courts at the 3A and 1A levels from Wednesday through Friday.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: FHSAA tennis: Spruce Creek girls duo loses in state individual finals
