By Kyle LoJacono
Wharton ended Wiregrass Ranch’s chance of making states for the third straight year, winning a pair of road matches on April 10 in the Class 4A regional semifinals.
The Wildcats boys (11-3) needed more than four hours to win 4-2, while the girls (14-3) were victorious 4-1 in just less than 90 minutes. The Bulls girls (15-3) reached states two years ago, while the boys (16-2) did last season.
“I knew Wiregrass was an excellent team,” said second-year Wharton boys coach Glenn Alvarez. “I’m very impressed with the win.”
There was little suspense in all the singles matches except No. 3. Wiregrass Ranch No. 1 Courage Okungbowa won 6-0, 6-0 against Sam Chaffin, while his younger brother, Foresight, won the No. 5 point 6-1, 6-2 over Cesar Maeda.
Wharton countered with No. 2 Alek Crnogorac winning 6-1, 6-0 against Koustubh Ramesh and No. 4 Tommy Hwang taking a 6-3, 6-2 contest over Jaime Feliciano.
It was the No. 3 match between Wharton’s Marcel Betancourt and Wiregrass Ranch’s Alejandro Feliciano that gave the Wildcats momentum.
Betancourt needed nearly three hours to win the contest 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 7-5.
“I don’t know how I did it,” said Betancourt, a senior. “I was in such a bad mood. I know the kid I’m playing; I know his game and I was just not playing my game. I was doing a lot of unforced errors. I was able to run away with the first set 7-5, but 6-7 I don’t know. I was acting like a baby honestly, but I was able to kind of calm down and keep on pushing through.”
Chaffin and Crnogorac took advantage of the chance to end the match, winning No. 1 doubles 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. It is the first time the Bulls’ top doubles team of Courage and Eric Busch (14-1) has lost this season.
“I really wanted to win that point,” said Chaffin, a sophomore. “I wasn’t feeling that well today. My stomach was bothering me. I tried to fight through it. I took a break after singles, ate a little, got hydrated and stayed in the shade. I felt a lot better going into doubles.”
The Wharton girls claimed the Nos. 2-5 singles points to end the match without needing doubles.
“I’m very proud of them,” said fourth-year Wildcats girls coach Lori Miles. “We train on clay courts, and we knew we were coming to hard courts. We said we have to do what we can to win fast. They were practicing on hard courts all week.”
Wharton senior Diana Valencia, who won No. 2 singles 6-1, 6-0 against Leilani Cubero, has been on the team since her freshman year. The regional finals trip is her farthest in high school.
“When I was a freshman we certainly didn’t have this good of a team, and it’s amazing how much we’ve improved,” Valencia said. “It’s extremely special to get this far, especially because I’m probably not going to play in college.”
Plant ended the Wildcats’ run in the regional finals on April 12. The Panthers boys and girls both won 4-1. None of Wharton’s players qualified for states in singles or doubles.
The Wiregrass Ranch teams won’t be at states, but the Bulls will be represented. Courage qualified individually for the 4A tournament, where he will also play with Busch in doubles.
Star Makarome, who won No. 1 singles for the girls 6-0, 6-2 over Vanina Iordanova, also made states in singles and with Tiffany Garner four doubles.
“I know states is just Florida, but it feels so much bigger than that. It feels like some of the national tournaments that I usually play in the summer,” Makarome said.
Makarome, a freshman, improved her singles record to 10-0. She only lost one game all season entering regionals, but was expecting a tough match against Iordanova. The two have played in USTA tournaments.
“I really did not expect an 0 and 2 win honestly,” Makarome said. “I expected to lose more games. That was really good for me. It meant I was really sharp in that match. … I just wanted to play my game. I try not to let her dictate the points. On some points she did, which is too good, but (she) is a good player. You can’t have a perfect match.”
The 4A state tournament is at Lake Brantley High in Altamonte Springs April 15 to 18.
