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INVERNESS - Courtney Spafford was known as the queen of the court, sweeping all of her opponents with an undefeated record through the state tournament.
The Citrus sophomore went 16-1 this spring, winning her quarterfinal state matchup like she did last year.
What made this year special was Spafford's ability to ratchet up her game. Instead of taking passive baseline shots, Spafford learned how to become more proactive on the court. She began attacking the ball and taking more chances. She also mixed up her shots, toying with opponents as they raced back and forth and she waited for her next volley.
As a result, the two-time district champion and state qualifier produced this season.
She does not have the shock-and-awe game of Central's athletic Jeannette McDonald, who finished 18-3 with two of her three losses coming to one of the top-ranked players in Class 3A, but Spafford battled, and won. She never lost a regular-season singles or doubles match this season.
"Her work ethic is phenomenal," Citrus coach Michelle Connor said. "She'll go to lessons after practice 6-7 days a week, just to get that little extra whatever she could find."
While Spafford was good last year, this year, 6-foot-1 Spafford improved tenfold.
"Her ball speed improved tremendously and her consistency," Connor said. "She was a little more confident and self-assured this year, and that definitely showed up on the court. She went further at state than anyone in this area has ever gone."
With her sister, freshman Lindsey Spafford, she reached the doubles state semifinals with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 victory. After winning the semifinals in three sets by upsetting the No. 2 seed in the state, they advanced in the individual draw doubles final of the tournament, where the Spaffords lost to top-seeded Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons' Catherine Delmonico and Kayla Schwenk 6-2, 6-0.
"She went from barely win to winning match to them barely being able to get a game off her," said Ocala West Port Dean of student services and tennis coach Jim Hawkins. Hawkins is Spafford's private coach and worked as West Point's coach from 1989-94 and coached CFCC to a national title in 2001.
"She never quits," he said. "What stands out with Courtney is her mental toughness. Not many players are as mentally tough. At the (state) tournament, I talked to a lot of college coaches. A few said she has ice in her veins; she was very cool under pressure, which is very impressive at a young age. She doesn't get rattled."
Dawn Reiss can be reached at 352 860-7303 or dreiss@sptimes.com