SPORTS: Crusaders clinch 3rd straight state berth

Crusaders clinch 3rd straight state berth

CLASS 2A, DISTRICT 6: Coach Lauren Walker can breathe easy after TC gets past Lemon Bay.

By MIKE READLING, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 26, 2003

TAMPA - During her team's Class 2A, Region 6 match, Tampa Catholic coach Lauren Walker was the picture of an ulcer in the making.

Walker, her hands constantly wringing, was unable to stand still for more than 30 seconds and worked a route between five courts as she kept an eye on the singles matches.

It was those matches, in Walker's mind, that would dictate whether it was TC or Lemon Bay celebrating a state tournament berth.

With four finished and the score tied at 2, Walker was in worse shape than she had been most of the afternoon. That is when Jennifer Respie dropped the second set to the Mantas' Jill Paxton and put the coach near life support.

A quick chat with Respie between sets seemed to calm Walker down, but not nearly as much as when the Crusaders' No.3 seed ripped through the third set for a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 victory. That put TC up 3-2 in the best-of-seven match and put the coach in a more normal frame of mind.

"Once I knew that we won No.3 singles, I knew we had a very good opportunity to be in the state tournament," Walker said. "I knew we needed three out of the five singles. If not Jen, then I hoped Meghan (Zavonia) or Sidney (Stanger) would get one for us."

A little more than a half-hour later, Tampa Catholic's No.1 doubles team of Miranda Gutierrez and Meaghan McKenna clinched the Crusaders' third consecutive state tournament spot when they cruised past Taylor Ittersagen and Kate Mull 6-0, 6-0.

It was a win that proved as vital as Respie's after the Lemon Bay duo of Jill Paxton and Candace Meals won their No.2 doubles match to cut the final margin to one point.

Gutierrez got the Crusaders off to a fast start as she defeated Ittersagen 6-0, 6-0 in No.1 singles.

The win allowed the University of South Carolina-bound Gutierrez to advance to state for the fourth consecutive year. She advanced to the semifinals her freshman and sophomore seasons.

The toughest part for Gutierrez seemed to be dealing with the gusts that kicked up dust from the clay courts at Hillsborough Community College.

"The wind was a very big deal," Gutierrez said. "The balls were going all over the place. Because of that, I tried to come into the net more just to get the points over with quicker."

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