Winter Haven's Saltman fends off upset bid from Jenkins' Kumria in county tennis finals

When tennis practice began in January, not much drama was expected for the No. 1 boys and girls singles final when the county tournament was played. Winter Haven sophomore Ben Saltman and Aubundale sophomore McKenna Battilla were heavy favorites to dominate.

The girls side became wide open when Battilla, the defending county champion, sustained knee injury in the soccer playoffs, which ended her tennis season before it started.

However, when the county finals for No. 1 singles were played on Friday, the drama came from the boys.

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Saltman dropped just one game in an early-season meeting against George Jenkins junior Nico Kumria, the defending county champion, but this time he was in a battle.

Trailing 6-5 in the first set, Saltman held serve then won the tiebreaker then went to defeat Kumria, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, on Friday after noon in the No. 1 singles finals of the Polk County Boys and Girls Tennis Tournament at the Beerman Family Tennis Center.

As for the girls, it was anticlimatic as Santa Fe Catholic’s Nyer Kerr, the favorite, dropped out to rest a shoulder injury with the district tournament scheduled for next week. Kerr defeated McKeel junior Jada Hutto for the second time this season in the West finals, but her rematch with Hannah Windham will have to wait until next week’s district tournament. Kerr defeated Windham in a regular-season matchup, 6-3, 6-2. Windham was the East county champion.

In the boys No. 1 final, Kumria played with more confidence and gave Saltman a much more competitive match than he did the first time they met this season. Saltman, the son of David Saltman, who is the tennis pro at the Winter Haven City Courts, is a highly touted juniors player who is ranked No. 15 in the county and No. 5 in Florida in the recruiting rankings for the Class of ’26.

“I know Nico is a really good player so I was expecting him to play smarter and adjust how he was going to play because I could tell he had a hard time playing against me the first time,” Saltman said. “And I just know we both worked really hard. So I knew we were both going to be aware of the situation as needed. And I could tell he was playing close to his best level so I had to figure out ways to produce my best shots even when I felt like my level wasn't where I wanted it to be.”

As the match progressed, Saltman’s serve became more of a weapon. He tied the first set at 5-5 with three straight aces before finishing off with a winner after a weak return of serve.

Saltman admitted that he wasn’t playing anywhere near his best, and the atmosphere of the county final was a good learning experience.

“The setting of the match with a lot of people watching and it being the county finals, I didn't feel very free on the court,” he said. “So I definitely gave him a lot of opportunities to attack me. So that's something I'll be aware of in the future. But he definitely took advantage when I didn't produce my best.”

Saltman has dominated the high school scene this season, dropping just three games all season, one to Kumria, one to Geneva Classical’s Wiley Simpson and one this week to Auburndale’s Kyle Fox.

After pulling out the first set, Saltman went up 4-0 and was serving game point to go up 5-0. However, Kumria held on, broke Saltman’s serve then won two more games to get back in the set, down 4-3. Saltman then regrouped and won the next two games and the match.

“The first time, I wasn't prepared and I got nervous and then I felt like I wasn't even playing my tennis at all,” Kumria said about the difference in the two matches. “I was just putting the ball in the court. And this time, I felt like I played the way I wanted to and I was able to control it. I wanted to play with a little bit more strategy coming into this.”

The two players will likely meet again next week in the district tournament.

Because of prom, only one other boys overall final was played as George Jenkins’ Brayden Mitchell defeated Winter Haven’s CJ Chalwe, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 4.

On the girls side, McKeel’s Briley Davis defeated Frostproof’s Abigail Windham, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 2; McKeel’s Ciara Smith defeated Lake Wales’ McKenna Ramos, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 3, Bartow’s Madison Fedler defeated Lake Wales’ Grayce Parrish, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 4, and McKeel’s Ashley Opderbeck defeated Winter Haven’s Meleah Dean, 6-4, 2-6, 10-8, at No. 5.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Winter Haven's Saltman fends off upset bid from Jenkins' Kumria