Central savors 'sweet' win after halting Lecanto streak

LECANTO -- After returning from an away match, the usual meal for the Central girls team is fast food, and the tab is paid by the players. On Tuesday, it was steak, and coach Joe Nicolai grabbed the check. Such is the reward for righting some bad history.

The Bears finally avenged the only five losses of their past three regular seasons, upending Lecanto 4-3 and ending the Panthers' 64-match win streak.

"This is so, so sweet," Nicolai said. "We'd always been in it, every time we played them, but it was heartbreak every time."

Central (11-1), which lost to Lecanto 4-3 in their previous meeting this season, sealed the victory and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championship when Jen Ales and Shelane Etchison defeated Jennifer Rimes and Shreyah Rao 6-4, 6-0 in No. 1 doubles.

"Everyone was crying," Nicolai said. ... "The coach was crying."

Lecanto coach Joan Roberts took the loss well.

"Nothing lasts forever on this earth," Roberts said. "At some time it was bound to happen, and Central is tough."

The Panthers (13-1, 7-0 in 2A-6) beat Central 5-2 earlier this season. But two of their singles wins went three sets, so Roberts knew her team was in for a tough match. It didn't help that Monday's practice was rained out, she said.

"I think spring break hurt us, and I really wanted to practice Monday," Roberts said. "We had no practices over the break, so we were kind of going in cold. Some of them had been playing, but some had been out."

Tuesday, Ales dropped her first set at No. 1 singles before rallying for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 win over Rimes. She and No. 4 Kacy Howard, stationed a few courts away, shared emotion and inspiration during Howard's 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory against Rao.

"Jen was really, really nervous and tight," Nicolai said. "This was her last opportunity to play Lecanto, but once she dropped that first set, she came back strong.

"Jen and Kacy were looking at each other's scores, and they were playing off it," Nicolai said. "They had some powerful vibes going."

Nisha Shah beat Etchison 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2, and No. 3 Ashley Campbell swamped Central's Paula Nagarajan 6-1, 6-1. But Jessica Nicolai romped Sireesha Bellam 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5.

Campbell and Shah beat Nagarajan and Nicolai 6-2, 6-1 in No. 2 doubles.

The Bears will not have to worry about Lecanto getting even in the postseason because Central has moved up to Class 3A. The Panthers, who remained in 2A, knocked the Bears out of regional play last year.

Joe Nicolai credited the victory to a hard week of practice over spring break. That Lecanto and Land O'Lakes (10-2), at Central today, awaited made it easier to inspire tough practices, the coach said.

"We were pretty focused and together," Nicolai said. "We worked through spring break, and the girls were all there. We knew we had a tough week, so we needed to get prepared."

Lecanto is at 2A-6 Dunnellon today, then has two more matches prior to the district tournament. Before Tuesday, the Panthers' last loss was in 1998 to Central.

"We're going to go out and try to beat our own record," Roberts said.

Lecanto tied for third at state last year.

-- Times staff writer Keith Niebuhr contributed to this report.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright