District Tennis: Auburndale boys, Bartow girls win team titles; McKeel's Hutto, Davis qualify for state
Auburndale won four of the five singles spots, including No. 1, and split the doubles positions to win team competition at the Class 3A, District 6 boys tennis tournament, giving the Bloodhounds their first district title since 2017.
“It was a long time coming,” coach Logan Allen said. “We haven't been district champs since 2017, and we got runner up last year. So I guess we just had a bad taste in our mouth from last year. So we took care of businesses here and won pretty much all of them.”
Auburndale (12-2) will play in the regional semifinals at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Woodlake Park.
Auburndale outlasted Orlando Edgewater in five of the seven finals to win 18-14. In the five finals that the Bloodhounds won, only two sets were competitive.
Leading the way for Auburndale, Kyle Fox defeated Miller Hardman, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 1 singles. As the No. 1 singles champion, he automatically qualified for the state tournament as an individual.
More: George Jenkins boys tennis takes district title after bizarre ending vs. Winter Haven
“He had some tough matches and definitely wasn't really the favorite to win, but he took care of business and took it home,” Allen said.
In Auburndale’s other wins, Trevor Pretterec defeated Jack Vlaming, 6-2, 6-1; Angel Guilarte defeated Ryan Starkey, 6-1, 6-4; Chad Williams defeated Max Teeter, 6-4, 6-0, and Williams and Guilarte defeated Vlaming and Wright, 6-0, 6-0.
“I kind of knew we could win, but I didn't know that we could win pretty much every final,” Allen said. “It was pretty much us and Edgewater in all the finals, and all the boys fought hard and played hard.”
McKeel’s Hutto, Davis qualify for 2A state
McKeel junior Jada Hutto and freshman Biley Davis were the only Polk County players advancing out of the Class 2A, District 7 girls tournament as the duo won district titles to advance to the state tournament.
The individual state tournament will be held April 29-May 1 at Sylvan Lake Park in Sanford.
Hutto won the district title at No. 1 singles, and she and Davis won No. 1 doubles. The district champions at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles receive automatic berths.
This is Hutto's fourth consecutive year qualifying for state, but her first at No. 1 singles. As an eighth-grader, she played No. 4 singles on McKeel’s state runner-up team, and she played No. 3 singles as a freshman when the McKeel girls lost in the state semifinals.
Last season, she moved up to No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. Although she lost in the singles in the district tournament, she kept her state-qualifying streak alive by winning No. 1 doubles with Sarah Steeves.
For Davis, a freshman, this is her first trip to the state tournament. She replaced Steeves, who graduated, as Hutto’s doubles partner.
For the boys, McKeel’s Keith Kopp won the district title at No. 5 singles.
Bartow, Lakeland girls advance to regional playoffs
Bartow and Lakeland advanced out of the Class 3A, District 8 girls tournament. Bartow won the team title, and Lakeland finished runner-up.
Bartow will play host to Dade City Pasco at 3 p.m. Tuesday, and Lakeland will travel to Wiregrass Ranch.
Bartow won district titles at all seven positions. In singles, Montserrat Vasconez def. Hillsborough’s Samantha Bala, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 1; Bhavya Pinapala def. Lakeland’s Hope Hallock, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 2; Elizabeth Matteson def. Madison Templeton, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 3; Madison Fedler def. Annabelle Duyon, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 4, and Adelyn McLean def. Sofia Wiggins, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 5.
In doubles, Vasconez and Pinapala) def. Lakeland’s Victoria Restrepo and Hilda Curtis, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1, and McLean and Matteson) def. Hallock and Madison, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 2.
With the victories at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, Vasconez and Pinapala received automatic berths to the state tournament and will play in the individuals bracket if the team doesn't advance past regionals.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland-area FHSAA district tennis tournament roundup
