SARASOTA -- Dominic Cotrone hasn’t lost a high school tennis match in nearly two years, but few of his victories felt as good as the one he got Tuesday when Bradenton Christian won the Class A-District 10 championship.
It was the first team title for Cotrone and Rick Morange, who has been the Panthers head coach for 10 years. Bradenton Christian finished with 15 points, besting runner-up Community School of Naples (13) and third-place Cardinal Mooney (9) in a rain-delayed event at Out-Of-Door-Academy.
The girls title will be decided today beginning at 9 a.m. with both semifinal doubles matches. Saint Stephens holds a 20-18 edge over ODA. CSN is third with 16.
“I thought we would win it last year, but we had injuries and three of our top five players didn’t play. So this is sweet because it’s been a long time coming,” Morange said. “Dom is a special player, undefeated since 2009, and without him we are a different team, but all the guys played great.”
Bradenton Christian had three individual winners, and four out of its five singles players made it to the final round. Nathan and Samuel Price won at No. 2 and 3, respectively, and Cotrone won at No. 1 singles.
Cotrone swept through his final match, defeating Cardinal Mooney’s Kevin Lyons 6-1, 6-0. Nathaniel Price improved his record to 8-4, beating Jack Reiss of CSN 6-0, 5-2 (retired). Sam Price, only an eighth-grader, topped CSN’s Dylan Glasgow 6-2. 7-6 (8-6) to improve to 10-2.
“This is my second district title at No. 1singles, but it’s awesome for the team to do it,” Cotrone said. “This is the first time the school has done it in a really long time, and I am really proud of this group. We played well when it counted the most.”
The Florida State-bound Cotrone improved to 13-0. He and Nathan Price won the No. 1 doubles district title and will be returning to state, where they lost in the finals last year. They also are undefeated this year.
Bradenton Christian’s Austin Dumas reached the No. 5 singles before losing to Alex Day of CSN 6-4, 6-0 to suffer his first loss of the season after nine victories.
The Panthers will be home Tuesday in regional semifinal match against the District 9 runner-up, and CSN plays at the District 9 champion. The winners meet Thursday for a trip to the state tournament.
In girls play, ODA and Saint Stephen’s had two individual district champions. For ODA, Caroline Dailey defeated Saint Stephen’s Perri Anderson at No. 1 singles 6-1, 6-0, and at No. 5 singles, Callan Malone beat CSN’s Alex Overedijking 6-2, 6-3.
Individual winners for Saint Stephen’s were Hailey Nicklin, who topped Nicole Drab (CSN) at no. 3 singles 6-3, 6-1, and Caroleena Dowling defeated Michelle Van Dalen of ODA 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 singles.
CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 7 -- The Manatee High girls tennis team advanced to the regional semifinals after finishing runner-up at Sarasota High. The Hurricanes tallied 14 points to place second behind Sarasota Riverview (20).
Carolyn Chupa defeated the Rams’ Danielle Truitt 6-2, 6-0 to capture the No. 1 singles title and help lead Manatee to the regional semifinals next Tuesday.
Chupa teamed with Dana Scott in the No. 1 doubles final but lost to Truitt and Abby Yull 6-1, 7-6 (7-2).
The Manatee High boys team also competed, but placed third to district champ Sarasota Riverview and runner-up Plant City. The Canes’ season ended when they didn’t have anyone win the No. 1 singles or No. 1 doubles title.
