Hillsborough ends coach's 17-year wait for a district trophy
The Terriers' No. 2 doubles team of Dilip Kamath and Roshan Patel clinch the 3A-9 title for coach Charles Roberts.
By MIKE READLING
Published April 21, 2004
TAMPA - After two days the Class 3A, District 9 boys tournament came down to lots of hand wringing and a No. 2 doubles match that went to three sets. In the end, all the sweat and anxiety paid off for Hillsborough and longtime coach Charles Roberts, who finally hoisted a district championship trophy.
Plant's No. 2 team of Eric Franca and Charlie Joiner faced Hillsborough's Dilip Kamath and Roshan Patel.
If the Panthers had won they would have tied the Terriers and forced a head-to-head playoff this morning.
But the Terriers earned the title by one point, walking away with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.
"I can't even begin to tell you how good this feels," said Roberts, who has coached the Terriers for 17 years. "Everything just came together this year. Those two knew what was at stake. That was a real gut-check for them."
The 15-14 win for Hillsborough avenged an early loss to the Panthers.
Aside from Sickles' Brian Knierman, who won the No. 5 singles title, Hillsborough and Plant played in every final with Plant winning four.
Included in that list is Kimble McKay, who won his second consecutive district title at No. 2 singles. He also team with his twin brother, Brendan, in No. 1 doubles.
Sub sparks Wharton
TAMPA - Only a week ago Wharton junior Rudy Lefebvre was No. 6 on the team and not on the starting roster.
Then Joey Nicotera got sick and had to be replaced at No. 4. As the alternate, Lefebvre got the call and won the district singles title Tuesday at his new spot.
"Rudy was definitely the underdog, but he did a great job, pulling an upset for the championship," Wharton coach Marcie Scholl said. "But everyone did a great job to help us win the team title. There were some close matches, but the guys came through."
The Wildcats won all five singles titles and the No. 2 doubles. Brandon won the No. 1 doubles title.
Wharton won the 3A-8 team championship with 18 points. King was a second with 12, Brandon third with eight.
Konstantin Lazarov, a senior with four years at the No. 1 position, beat Brandon's Robbie Wald for the singles championship.
"Our guys all did an exceptional job the past two days," Lazarov said. "We were seeded first only at No. 1 and 5. The rest were victory upsets for us."
Scot Seitz won the No. 2 singles 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 over Brandon's Robbie Wald. At No. 3 freshman Michael O'Rourke had the toughest match, but won 7-5, 7-6 over King's Adam Weigle.
Adam Kluger captured the No. 5 final 6-1, 6-0 over Juan Carlos Laverde of Middleton.
In No. 1 doubles Brandon's Wald and Garret Miller defeated King's Philip Wolf and Adam Weigle 6-1, 6-3. Wharton's Seitz and O'Rourke beat King's Laxman Pichappan and Raj Padalia for the No. 2 doubles title.
- TERRY JONES
Jesuit extends run to 12
TAMPA - For the 12th consecutive year Jesuit was crowned a district champion, and once again it came easily.
The Tigers won Tuesday at Tampa Palms in 2A-9 with 19 points, seven ahead of Freedom. Lakewood finished third with seven.
Jesuit won all five singles matches, three over Freedom and two over Lakewood. After that, the doubles were a formality.
Jesuit coach Joe Curtis was pleased with his team's effort and hopeful for Friday's regional match against Lake Wales, which beat Jesuit 4-3 in the regular season. A victory over would give Jesuit another trip to next week's state tournament.
"We're young (starting two freshman and three sophomores) but these guys are seasoned players with most of them getting experience from a year ago," Curtis said. "There isn't any dropoff in our No. 1 through No. 5 and we need to hope our depth will pull us through on Friday because Lake Wales has some really tough players in a couple of positions."
On Tuesday, Jesuit's top five - Mark Wilkie, Conner Blouin, Brian Beasley, Matt Jordan and Drew Jennewein - won all their finals in straight sets.
"We just have to stay focused," Curtis said. "We shouldn't have much problem staying focused from here on out."
