Best in state
West Boca’s Anna Bright wins Class 4A tennis title.
A day after winning the Class 2A team title, the American Heritage boys weren’t quite ready to leave Red Bug Lake Park in Casselberry on Friday without winning a medal.
The doubles team of Zachary Ebenfeld and Jordan Skalet won the overall state doubles championship over Albert Go and Noah Rawls of Merritt Island 6-4, 6-2.
“It was a really close early in the first set,” American Heritage coach Toby Croke said. “They began to pull away, took a commanding lead and it was over.”
Croke said the doubles tandem of Ebenfeld and Skalet was pieced together in time for the post season. They reached the overall state final after winning the No. 1 doubles championship on Thursday.
Skalet, who is only a sophomore, lost in the overall single championship to Go 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 (tiebreaker).
Anna Bright had that confident feeling before the 2015 high school tennis season began she would be the best girls player in Class 4A.
Bright, who is just a freshman at West Boca High, won the overall singles state title with a 6-2, 2-6, 10-6 victory over Clare McKee of Boca Raton at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs on Friday.
McKee advanced to the overall singles title match after winning the team No. 1 single championship on Thursday.
If that wasn’t enough, Bright teamed with junior Eden Sela to win the overall doubles title, beating Sibel Can and Shene Disbergen of Cypress Bay 6-3, 2-6, 10-7.
“It’s incredible,” said Bright after winning to titles. “I was so happy when I won. I completely expected to be the state champion.”
Bright became the first girls player from Palm Beach to win the individual state championship in Class 4A since Jeanne Schwartz of Wellington in 2001. Bright and Sela also became the first 4A doubles tandem to win individual doubles titles.
Both were firsts for West Boca.
“it was a tough match,” Sela said of her doubles final. “We played well in the first set and they played much better in the second. We just played amazing in the tiebreaker.”
Charlie Sullivan of Spanish River, who won the team No. 1 singles title, was forced to withdraw in the overall singles final against Jose Andres Ortega of Miami Ferguson because of injury.