Top players in battle for area supremacy

With no Rushil Rao to kick everyone around anymore, the battle among the best players in Citrus and Hernando counties has heated up.

Rao, who won district titles in 1999 and 2001, graduated last year. However, the Lecanto star's absence hasn't created a void at No. 1.

Quite the contrary. If anything, there is a glut of talent at the top -- exemplified by the battles between Hernando's Andrew Sufficool, Lecanto's Avash Rao (Rushil's brother), Citrus' Pier Presti and Crystal River freshman Chris Lavoie.

Over the first half of the season, none have taken control. Sufficool, a junior, has beaten Rao and Presti, but lost in straight sets to Lavoie. Presti, meanwhile, has beaten Lavoie, but lost to Rao.

Confused yet? The next few weeks should clarify things. It all begins with today's match between Citrus and Lecanto, in which Rao and Presti will meet for the second time.

"Sometimes, I don't think he shows up until the second set," Citrus coach Doug Patton said of Presti's straight-sets loss to Rao. "By that time, it's usually too late."

Patton expects a different performance from the Venezuelan exchange student this time around.

"I think he was a little shy at the beginning of the year," Patton said. "He'd never seen any of those guys before, and he was trying to feel them out. But he may be more aggressive early this time. He played with Avash last weekend, and he's more familiar with him."

Round 2 begins Friday when Crystal River travels to Hernando, featuring the much-anticipated rematch between Sufficool and Lavoie.

"I'm definitely looking forward to the match," Lavoie said. "I think it's going to be a good match. We had a good match last time at my place. Now I've got to go to his place, and that will be an advantage for him."

The competition will continue next week. Lavoie and the Pirates travel to Citrus on Tuesday and host Lecanto on March 21. Presti and the Hurricanes take on Hernando on March 21. INCHING CLOSER: Patton isn't sure whether his Hurricanes can avenge an earlier loss to the Panthers in today's matchup at Lecanto, but he doesn't seem too worried.

"We're probably about two weeks away," said Patton, whose teams lost twice to Lecanto last year before upsetting the Panthers in the district tournament. "But we might get lucky."

Patton has a clear advantage at No. 2 singles with undefeated sophomore Bret Feldman.

"He hasn't gone three sets with anybody other than the kid from Hernando," Patton said. "When he plays Pier in practice, Pier always beats him, but it's always exciting and close."

The "wild card" for Citrus, according to Patton, is Scotty Johnson, who missed much of the first half due to his commitment with the basketball squad and plays No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles.

"He's got tremendous potential," Patton said. "And he has great presence at the net in doubles. At 6-foot-5, when he hits the ball, he hits it hard. When he gets it all together, he'll be very hard to deal with."

RESCHEDULED: The match between Hernando and Lecanto, originally scheduled for March 7, has been rescheduled for April 9.

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