Lecanto advances

By DAVID MURPHY and IZZY GOULD
Published April 22, 2006

BROOKSVILLE - By the time the rain started falling and players scattered to various cars and tents, the two doubles matches between Hernando and Lecanto were still in progress.

But for the Panthers, it did not matter. Lecanto claimed four of the five singles matches and posted a rain-shortened 4-1 victory over host Hernando in the Class 2A region match.

Sasha Rodriguez, Shivani Parikh, Lakshmi Ram and Tracy Grady won at No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 singles, all in straight sets. The lone pockmark for Lecanto was Sonia Shah's loss to Chelsea Clark at No. 1 singles.

"I'm very happy with the girls' performances," Lecanto coach Karen Dickson said. "I knew that we would be competitive."

Lecanto will spend Monday night in Tampa before beginning state play on Tuesday morning. Hernando's No. 1 doubles team of Clark and Leah Keefe also will be there.

CELEBRATION - A bid for consecutive state berths fell short for River Ridge in Mickey Mouse's backyard.

The Royal Knights crushed opponents all season with aces and winners, but struggled to win games in a 5-0 loss for the region title. The Storm cruised ahead with straight-set victories at No. 1 and No. 2 singles by Julia Huschke and Colleen Michael and was poised for a ruthless sweep.

Instead of folding, River Ridge squeezed some strong play from Ryan Hille at No. 3 singles and Natalie Ott-Brady at No. 4. Hille won the first set of her match and Ott-Brady forced a third set.

Hille had match point in the second, but Kathryn Michael fought back in a grueling tiebreak to force a third set ultimately winning 1-6, 7-6 (10), 6-1. Ott-Brady slipped quickly in her third set, falling to Karen Reiss 6-0, 5-7, 6-2.

"We ran into a mirror of ourselves," River Ridge coach Doug Howery. "I know they're disappointed, but I'm proud of the way they played."

[Last modified April 22, 2006, 01:39:14]