Caroline Dailey dominated her competition all season on the tennis court.
She breezed through the regular season and district tournament undefeated, and on Wednesday, the Out-of-Door Academy eighth-grader won the Class 1A Individual Tennis State Championship in Orlando.
The top-seeded Dailey, who’s ranked 37th in the state in the USTA Under-16 division, downed No. 2 seed Anika Novacek of Boca Raton St. Andrew’s 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
“I credit my will to fight, which I rediscovered in the last month,” Dailey said in a prepared statement. “When times were tough, I knew I was ready to battle to the end. I feel accomplished and proud of myself.”
Dailey and doubles partner Michelle Ramos qualified for the state semifinals before losing to a doubles team from St. Andrew’s.
Throughout the season, Thunder coach Noel Dougherty said Dailey’s intelligence and aggressive style would lead her to the top.
“The match had numerous momentum shifts,” Dougherty said in the statement. “Ultimately, Caroline outfought her opponent. People were shocked that she was in eighth grade, given her power and presence on the court. She has amazing confidence and a strong desire to engage in battle.”
The Thunder girls tennis team finished second in last week’s Class 1A-Region 3 tournament.
The outcome was not as good for Braden River girls No. 1 singles player Lauren Bock. The junior fell in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, to Jessica Barnes of Haines City in the Class 2A state title match.
In the No. 1 doubles division, Bock and Aly Delrose lost to Jacksonville Stanton’s Rebecca Kitto and Maria Rojas 6-2, 6-3 to cap a stellar season for the Pirates.
“We went from the bottom of the district to the top of the district,” Braden River coach Amy Brush-VanHoof said. “We had one senior, one junior and five freshmen, so I think there’s a good future for Braden River tennis.”
On the boys side, the Pirates didn’t fare well, either, in Class 2A action. Braden River went 1-7 combined in singles and doubles matches.
The Pirates’ No. 3 singles player, Michael Estaban, defeated Yogesh Ghandi of Lecanto High 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 in the first round of play Wednesday, but he fell 6-0, 6-0 to Alex Buzi of Miami Gulliver Prep in the next round.
“It was a little bit disappointing for us. We expected to go farther,” Braden River coach John Wheeler said. “We got some really bad draws right off the bat, and that kind of put us in a hole. From then on, we were fighting an uphill battle.”
Email Story
Printer Friendly 
Quick Job Search
@Nyx.replyAnswerText@