The Florida Keys’ three tennis squads closed the regular season with familiar rivals to prep for district play.
Key West hosted Marathon on April 6 and dealt a courtside crush to the Dolphins. The boys won 6-1, with singles wins from John Picco, Nathaniel Bergh, Hubert Konopka and Jack Bridger. Picco and Andrei Lehene teamed up in No. 1 doubles and Bergh and Ben Delostrinos did the same in No. 2 doubles for another set of wins for the Conchs. Marathon’s Kase Daughtry had the lone Fins win against Key West in the No. 4 singles match.
The Lady Conchs didn’t allow any Fins wins, blanking the Dolphins 7-0. Eva Drozdetskaia, Miah Apperson, Avery Batty, Beyza Atilla and Amina Erik won in Nos. 1 through 5 singles; Drozdetskaia and Hamida Muhsinova won in No. 1 doubles and Monea McLeod and Durdona Oblokulova made the clean sweep with a win in No. 2 doubles.
The following day, the Conchs delivered another one-two punch to visiting Coral Shores. Wyatt Bartels, Mason Martel and Bridger won in singles, with Bartels and Bridger plus Martel and Daniel Morales teaming up to keep the ’Canes off the scoreboard.
The girls matchup was closer, with Key West coming out on top by a single match. Muhsinova won in No. 1 singles for the Lady Conchs, then Kaiyenna de Ron got on the board for the Hurricanes in No. 2 singles. Fellow ’Canes Jillian Thiery and Vanesa Gabriel made it three wins for Coral Shores. But Shihan Ren’s win in No. 5 singles plus doubles wins from Muhsinova and Batty plus McLeod and Ren gave Key West a 4-3 win.
On April 9, Coral Shores traveled to Marathon for the final regular-season matches for Keys teams. The Hurricanes got on the board first with a win from Garrett Gomila in the No. 1 singles match and added a second win from Parker Smith in No. 5 singles, but the Fins put five points on the board for the win. Matt Delgado, Graham Murphy and Kase Daughtry picked up singles wins and Daughtry and Tanner Snowden picked up a win in No. 1 doubles.
Seniors Delgado and Eduardo Garcia finished their regular-season in familiar fashion; the duo, who spent years on Marathon’s offensive and defensive lines on the gridiron together, completed their brotherhood by teaming up on the court for a win in the No. 2 doubles match for the biggest win in Fins history, as far as size goes.
In girls action, Marathon’s Emily Alvear started things off strong for the Dolphins, winning in No. 1 singles. After that, the Hurricanes blew past the Fins, winning six straight. Allyson Rosendale, de Ron, Harlee Beeler and Thiery won in singles, then Rosendale and Beeler plus Vanessa Gabriel and Parker Kelly won their doubles matches for a 6-1 win for Coral Shores.
This week, the teams will head to their respective district matches in hopes of making the run into regionals the following week.
