Rain delays some Spartans matches

By BOB PUTNAM
Published April 27, 2005

The Scott Speicher Tennis Center and Tom Brown Park could have used retractable roofs as persistent rain interrupted some matches and canceled others at the Class A tournament in Tallahassee.

The threat of rain delayed the start. Once play resumed, players made heavy thwacks at soggy tennis balls and sloshed through puddles to deliver forehands.

It was messy tennis and it showed.

Still, two Saddlebrook girls, Leah Peranza (No. 5) and Kourtney Stark (No. 2), won their opening-round singles matches. Peranza won 6-4, 6-2 and Stark won 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.

The Spartans' Veronica Torres (No. 4) lost her opening-round match in straight sets, and No. 3 Victoria Kostina defaulted because of personal reasons. No. 1 Yui Shimizu will play today.

"The rain kind of screwed things up," Saddlebrook coach Martin Parkes said. "And we're a lot weaker without one of our players. We'll just have to get through and enjoy the experience of being here."

Cole Conrad (No. 5) was the only boy who played his opening-round match for Saddlebrook. He lost 7-5, 7-6 (9-7).

TAMPA - When Crystal River's Chris Lavoie and Brian deMontfort take to the court today at Hillsborough County Community College, they will have their backs to the wall.

After splitting the first two sets of their Class 2A doubles match against James Pilkington and Kyle Maloof of Lake Wales, rain postponed play in the third set with the Pirates down 3-1.

"If I know my boys," said Crystal River coach Vicki Browning, "they'll be up to the challenge and will come out okay."

If Crystal River wins, it faces Stanton Prep in a quarterfinal match. In a singles match, Lavoie was edged by third seed Clay Garrett in a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 contest.

"His opponent (Garrett) plays an off-speed game and that took Chris somewhat out of his power type game," Browning said. In a quarterfinal girls singles match, Hernando's third-seeded Shaena Keefe lost to Cocoa Beach's Leann Nawrocki 7-5, 6-1. But Keefe teamed with Chelsea Clark to score a doubles win over LaBelle 6-3, 6-0. Hernando coach Teri Sellers was optimistic about moving on.

"We are very excited," Sellers said. "They both played well, we have a good placement in the bracket, and if they keep it up, I think they'll do just fine." Citrus' Courtney Stafford fell to Arnold's Allison Hess 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 in a semifinal match. Stafford had taken an opening-round match 6-0, 6-1, against Hannah Blazekovic of North Point to advance. In girls doubles, Lecanto's Shreya Rao and Sonia Shah were defeated by Keely Mulligan and Gabriella Braga of Gulliver Prep 6-0, 6-0.

In boys singles, Zephyrhills' Suneal Bedi fell to No. 2 seed Cory Dunham of Clay 6-2, 6-1 in a quarterfinal match. Bedi had beaten Lee Travis of Godby 6-0, 6-2 in the opening round.

- JIM REESE, Times staff writer

[Last modified April 27, 2005, 00:48:18]