Doral Academy boys top Cypress Bay to win Class 4A tennis championship
Doral Academy freshman Andres Matos dropped his racket.
But this was no fumble. Matos, playing at No. 5 singles, had just won his match, 6-2, 7-5, clinching the Class 4A boys’ team state championship with a 4-2 win over Cypress Bay on Tuesday at Altamonte Springs.
After trailing 4-1 in the second set, Matos roared back to win.
With the victory assured, he dropped his racket and yelled in exaltation. A splitsecond later, his seven teammates sprinted toward him to celebrate the program’s second state title and its first since 2021.
“It was amazing,” said Doral’s No. 1 singles player, Ezequiel De La Plaza. “We ran on the court, formed a huge circle, and we started celebrating.”
The players dumped a large bucket of cold water on coach Justin Puppo, who has led Doral to six state titles since 2018, including four on the girls’ side.
“It wasn’t Gatorade, but it got the job done,” said De La Plaza, who will play for Holy Cross next season on a tennis scholarship.
“This is the perfect way to end my senior year. This feeling will never leave us. The photos, the memories – we will always be state champions.”
De La Plaza said he didn’t expect a state title when the season started.
“You always hope for the best,” he said. “But we had a powerhouse in our region (Miami Palmetto).
“Once we beat them (in the regional finals), it upped our confidence.”
Doral, which finished this season with a 15-1 record, started Tuesday on a solid note as the Firebirds saved one match point and won at No. 1 doubles with De La Plaza and Carlos Grimaldi prevailing, 4-0, 2-4 (13-11).
(This is the first year Florida has used short sets up to four in its state doubles competitions.)
After losing at No. 2 doubles, Doral caught a break at No. 2 singles as the Cypress Bay player had to retire due to dehydration.
Grimaldi, at No. 4 singles, gave Doral a 3-1 lead with his 6-2, 7-5 win.
However, Cypress Bay’s Sebastian Mendoza beat De La Plaza at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 7-6, cutting the Broward County power’s deficit to 3-2.
With the No. 3 singles match engaged in an epic 9-9 tiebreaker, Matos finally put Cypress Bay away.
Puppo, however, was impressed with the Broward program.
“They saved three match points at No. 3 singles,” Puppo said. “They would not give up. Their kids fought to the end.”
OTHER NOTABLES
Coral Springs Charter’s Juhnyee See won her third consecutive Class 2A overall girls singles state championship after cruising past Delray American Heritage’s Jacklyn Daynovsky 6-0, 6-0. See then prevailed along with Madisen Clark in the overall girls’ doubles division with a hard-fought 7-6, 3-6, 10-6 win over Kristina Despotuli and Daynovsky.
See joins elite company in Broward County history as her five individual titles is now tied for the most ever by a Broward County tennis player. See is now tied with St. Thomas Aquinas’ Chris Evert and Audra Cohen.
Stoneman Douglas’ Sarita Bagirathan won the Class 4A overall singles title with a 6-2, 6-1 win over
Boca Raton Spanish River’s Jessica Popescu.
Pine Crest’s boys’ doubles team of Ashwin Chawla and Koray Abramson won the Class 2A overall doubles title with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Naples Aubrey Rogers’ Paul Barrus and Akkil Nimmaggada. They became the third boys doubles team in Pine Crest history to win a state title and first since David Lins and Andrew Pereverzev in 2019.
MAST’s girls team also finished state runner-up in Class 2A after losing in the finals to Delray American Heritage 5-2. Isabella Porto fell in the individual singles final 7-5, 7-6 (5) to Daynovsky. On the boys’ side for MAST, Alessandro Sanchez Zaccaria lost in the individual boys final to Jacksonville Bolles’ Dhruv Pandya 6-1, 6-2.
In Class 1A, True North also cruised in their state quarterfinal matches. The girls beat Tallahassee Florida High 4-0 and advanced to play Melbourne Holy Trinity Episcopal on Thursday. The boys beat Naples Community School 6-0 to advance to the semifinals where they will play Pensacola Catholic.
For the Titans’ boys, Brennan Chow won his opening round boys singles match over Sebastian Reane 6-1, 6-1. Chow and his brother Caleb Chow also advanced to the boys doubles semifinals after a 5-4 (8), 4-1 win over Roane and Carter Castin.
For True North’s girls, Daniela Chica won her quarterfinal match 6-2, 6-3 over Community School’s Lily Graham. Chica and
Alba Martinez advanced to the semis in girls doubles with a 4-0, 4-0 win over Graham and Emily Kao.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ boys and girls teams cruised into the Class 3A semifinals as those tournaments began on Wednesday.
The girls won 5-0 over Sebring and moved on to face Niceville in the semifinals on Thursday.
The boys beat Tallahassee Leon 4-1 in the state quarterfinals. The Raiders will next face Lake Buena Vista in the semifinals.
Blake Edwards and Connor Reeser also advanced to the individual state boys doubles semifinals. Sophia Pacheco and Rowan Cicero also advanced to the individual girls doubles semifinals.