There's little agony in defeat for Holy Names duo

By KEITH NIEBUHR and DEREK REDD
Published April 27, 2006

TAMPA - Had they lost to just about anybody else, there would have been great disappointment with the outcome.

Perhaps, even anger.

But because Academy of the Holy Names' Meg Gregoire and Kimberly Renspie saw their doubles season ended 6-0, 6-0 by the top-seeded Jacksonville Bolles duo of Julie Middlekauf and Taylor Morgan on Wednesday, both could only smile.

"I'd rather lose to the best than someone else," Gregoire said. "I'm proud of the way we played."

Gregoire and Renspie, who provided Holy Names with one of its two victories Tuesday, were the Jaguars' last remaining players and had not lost all season at No. 2 doubles. But against Middlekauf and Morgan, they simply didn't have enough firepower to advance and Holy Names finished tied for sixth in the team standings, well back of champion Miami Gulliver Prep.

"They were amazing," Renspie said of Wednesday's foes. "But we were out there having fun the whole time."

The county's other remaining female, Tampa Catholic freshman Meghan Sullivan, found the going equally rough. In the semifinals of the individual singles competition, Sullivan played well but fell to Plantation American Heritage star Julie Sabacinski, who is among the state's top-rated players, 6-0, 6-1.

"She really knew where to place her shots and there's not much you can do when someone does that," Sullivan said. "I think she's probably the best I've played this year."

Sullivan finished the season 13-5.

"I learned that there are always things in my game I can work on," she said.

Jesuit hoped to climb in the boys standings, but Macale Smith and Eddy Shahnasarian lost hard-fought finals matches at Nos. 3 and 4. The Tigers, though, were good enough to place fourth (Jacksonville Bolles won) based on strong play the previous day.

"If two matches go in another direction (Tuesday), we probably would have been in the thick of the race," Jesuit coach Joe Curtis said.

TALLAHASSEE - Tampa Prep's George Navas admitted he knew little about Bradenton Prep's Alberto Gonzalez, his opponent in the No. 1 singles final. By the end of the match Wednesday, he was well aware of the talent Gonzalez possessed.

Navas let a first-set lead slip away and could not come back, losing 7-5, 6-4 to Gonzalez at the Speicher Tennis Center and halting his attempt to repeat as overall singles state champion.

Navas could not change his fortunes in doubles, as he and teammate Alexander Hallenbeck lost in the semifinals.

Tampa Prep finished third in the boys team standings behind champion Bradenton Prep and runnerup Sagemont. The girls finished tied for sixth, while Ransom Everglades won the team title.

Navas, who will play for the University of Michigan next season, controlled his singles match early. He moved Gonzalez, hampered by leg cramps, all over the court, using shots from his doubles repertoire to take a 5-3 lead.

But when Gonzalez, 45th in the world junior rankings, staged his comeback, Navas was unable to keep him at bay.

"I had plenty of chances in that first set," Navas said. "There was one shot I was surprised he didn't do more with. It gave me an easy volley and I missed it."

Navas had two chances to close out the first set, but missed two volleys on the first set point and double-faulted on the second. Navas tried to stay aggressive, but as the ball got heavier later in the match, the game's pace slowed, which favored Gonzalez.

"I didn't come through on the big points," Navas said. "He won more key points in the match and that was a big difference."

Tampa Prep coach Mark Hoekstra said that it just wasn't Navas' day.

"George just didn't seem like he had it," Hoekstra said. "After the match, he was saying that his left quad had cramped up, so he wasn't as mobile as he could have been."

Navas and Hallenbeck gave it their best shot in the doubles semifinals, taking Trinity Prep's James Moye and Parker Sitkowski to a second-set tiebreaker. But the Tampa Prep duo fell in that tiebreaker 11-9 to get knocked out of the tournament.

The weather didn't help their chances. Rain clouds moved in and out of Tallahassee all afternoon, periodically soaking the courts. Officials stopped play in Navas and Hallenbeck's match three times.

[Last modified April 27, 2006, 03:16:31]