Triple triumph: Chase Healey of Christ's Church wins FHSAA boys singles tennis three-peat
For Chase Healey, history was worth the wait.
Battling through four rounds of tennis, and holding his composure even after a match point slipped away, the Christ's Church senior entered the history books by winning his third consecutive Florida High School Athletic Association individual boys singles championship Wednesday night at Sylvan Lake Park in Sanford.
Healey fought off a determined effort from Brennon Chow of Miami True North in the Class 1A overall championship, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2). He held match point when up 6-5 in the second set, only for Chow to battle back and win the point to force a tiebreaker. There, Healey once again took command.
"I had to mentally recover and step into my shots, kind of block out that I'd lost a match point," he said in a remote interview from Central Florida following the final.
He clinched his spot in the final Tuesday with a 4-2, 4-2 win over Max Pettingell in the individual tournament, but had to wait out hours of rain delays — spending his time hitting against a wall rather than a live opponent — before his chance at history.
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Healey now joins select company as a three-time FHSAA boys singles champion, joining Martin Buxby (Miami Senior, 1927-29), Frank Guernsey (Orlando, 1933-35), Buddy Behrens (Fort Lauderdale, 1945-47), Michael Belkin (Miami Beach, 1961-63), Blaine Willenborg (Archbishop Curley, 1976-78) and Alexander Bogomolov (Miami Sunset, 1999-2001).
"They're really good players, and I'm glad that I can put my name with them," he said.
The Healey era marks a new gold standard for Northeast Florida boys tennis history. The University of North Florida signee never lost a singles match since entering high school, and did not lose any regular-season singles matches in his FHSAA career.
His only three defeats came in postseason as a middle schooler competing against high schoolers between 2017 and 2019, and his freshman season — itself a potential championship season — ended early due to the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. Since then, he's been untouchable.
"It kind of brings all my hard work to fruition, and for everyone who supported me," he said.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school tennis 2023: Chase Healey wins third straight state title
