ST. PETERSBURG - It took nearly two weeks to settle the contest between St. Petersburg and Palm Harbor University.
A match that was suspended because of rain before spring break finally ended Thursday with both the Green Devils boys and girls teams remaining undefeated and winning 6-1.
The girls protected their unbeaten status despite having two matches pushed to tiebreakers. The Green Devils start sophomore Caitlein Jammo at No. 1 and have been solid all the way down the lineup. Jammo, who played No. 3 last season for Lakewood, said she doesn't feel much pressure at the top spot because her teammates always seem to come through and win their positions.
"The team is good enough, even if I don't win the team can still win," said Jammo, who's been beaten a few times in singles and had to overcome PHU's Amanda Sebba in a 7-4 tiebreaker.
St. Petersburg's boys have been nearly unstoppable. Freshman Shea Wali played his toughest match of the season against PHU junior Stephen Segura. The two train together at the St. Petersburg Tennis Center, and Segura said of all the times they'd played each other in practice Wali had never beaten him. Wali took a lot of power out of his game, disrupting Segura's timing, and won 8-4.
The Green Devils have a tough week ahead of them with matches against Countryside and East Lake. Of the remaining matches on the regular-season schedule, Wednesday's contest at East Lake may be St. Petersburg's toughest.
The Eagles girls returned just two players from last season's state-qualifying squad, seniors Elyse Roenick and Danielle Epstein, but they have done some damage in the county. East Lake's girls are undefeated, even without last season's No. 1, Anastasia Sokolova, who already had a scholarship to play at the University of Illinois and decided to sit out the high school season.
Geoff Gilchrist is the only player to return from East Lake's state-bound team of last season. With such losses, the Eagles have done well dropping just two matches.
Shorecrest boys on track, girls not far behind
The Chargers girls and boys are trying to finish with regular-season district titles. The undefeated boys don't look like they'll have much trouble, especially with junior Jonathan Bonner and senior Christian Yepes at the top two spots. Although they've been challenged in singles, the duo is undefeated in doubles.
Shorecrest's girls, who had twice as many losses than wins last season, have benefitted from a couple of newcomers this year and are 8-3. Rookie Morgan Basil, the 20th ranked 12-year-old in the country, is breezing through the season. Basil, a sixth grader, plays No. 1 for the Chargers and is undefeated. Sophomore Lauren Saltiel transferred from Berkeley Prep and has been a strong addition for the Chargers at the No. 2 spot.
The biggest match for Shorecrest's girls is coming up on April 12th when they get a rematch against Admiral Farragut. The Blue Jackets are the Chargers' only district loss and they returned last season state-qualifiers Laura Ladd and Rachel Silverberg.
In the first meeting Ladd and Basil didn't play against each other, and Saltiel wasn't there. If both teams' top players are able to go head-to-head, it could be a different outcome.
