Land O’ Lakes advances as runner-up
By Kyle LoJacono
The Pasco girls tennis team last claimed a district championship in 1994, but the Pirates won in the Class 2A-District 6 tournament in runaway fashion at Zephyr Park April 6-8.
“I was 1 year old in 1994,” said Pasco No. 4 player Norah Taylor. “It gives me goosebumps to think about it. It’s really been about our coaches and the players sticking together. We couldn’t have done it without each other.”
The last day was anticlimactic for Pasco, which had a newly insurmountable lead.
“This puts an exclamation point on the season,” said Pirates coach Don Charlick. “It just confirms that hard work and playing with integrity will get you far. We are a team. We stand together as a team. It’s the team that deserves the credit. Not the coaches, but the team. They’re the ones who came out and won the district championship for the first time in 17 years.”
The Pirates were the top seed in the event thanks to a perfect 8-0 district record and had players in five of the seven tournament finals. Pasco earned 13 points, followed by Land O’ Lakes’ 10. Zephyrhills and Gulf finished with nine each. Land O’ Lakes will move on to regionals with its runner-up finish.
Entering the last day there was the potential for a three-way tie for the runner-up spot. Zephyrhills’ last match ended while Land O’ Lakes freshman Josyln Lafond was playing for the No. 4 championship. It was for the last point available for her squad and she pulled out the three-hour match 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 against Norah.
“I knew it was coming down to me, but I tried not to think about it,” Lafond said. “I knew I could do it even though I lost the first set. I was hitting too hard and the ball was going into the net, so I hit it a little less hard after that.”
Lafond said the 10 minute break between sets two and three could not pass fast enough.
“I was trying not to think about it because I didn’t want to psych myself out,” Lafond said. “I just wanted to play.”
Gators second-year coach Samantha Taylor said of Lafond’s performance, “She really wanted it and she’s really hard on herself when she doesn’t win. I think she just has the want to win and she showed that in the second and third sets.”
Last year, Land O’ Lakes finished with a 5-6 record and returned seven of 10 players. In 2011 the Gators posted an 8-4 record and earned the No. 2 team seed in districts.
“The girls played so hard all season,” Taylor said. “We had a rough season last year, so it makes it that much sweeter to make regionals.”
While Zephyrhills was unable to defend its district championship, its No. 1 singles player Sarah Vande Berg and No. 1 doubles team of Sydney Owens and Vande Berg qualified for states.
The Zephyrhills No. 1 duo beat out Land O’ Lakes’ Wenyi Gu and Linzi Arndt 6-4, 6-3 for the title. Owens, a freshman, was serving in the clinching game and had to fight back from down 0-30 for the win. The decisive point came off a forehand winner from the first-year high school player.
“It just figures it would come down to my serve to send us to states,” Owens said. “There was a lot of pressure, especially with us being down 0-30. But we’re good at fighting back. It also helps to have a partner like Sarah. I think any doubles team with Sarah on it has a good chance.”
Vande Berg defeated Gu 6-1, 6-1 for the singles title. It is the second straight year Vande Berg has reached state individually and as part of a doubles team. She was beaten in the first round of singles play last year and made it to the second round of the doubles tournament with Chelsea Smith, who graduated.
“Last year I was really happy to make it to states,” Vande Berg said. “This year I want to go a lot further than I did in singles and doubles.”
Pirates coach Don Charlick said the team’s depth and togetherness was key to their championship. Another key was the addition of assistant Thomas Mitchell, who was Pasco’s No. 1 boys player in 2008 and 2009.
“He’s allowed us to have more focus in our practice,” Charlick said. “It lets us run two drills at the same time and let the girls hit 200 balls in practice. He’s volunteered for this. It’s about his love for the game.”
The Pirates will host Nature Coast at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, while Land O’ Lakes will travel to Crystal River at the same time. The 2A state tournament is April 20-22 in Sanford.
