ODA boys tennis falls in state quarterfinals

CASSELBERRY -- Out-of-Door Academy's boys tennis season came to an end Wednesday with a 4-0 loss to Port St. Lucie Morningside Academy on Wednesday in the Class 1A state team quarterfinals at Red Bug Lake Park.

The match pivoted in the No. 2 doubles match. Jake and Connor Krug won the first set for the Thunder before losing 1-6, 6-4, 12-10.

"I fully expected them to pull that one out," ODA coach Kieran Killigrew said. "I let my guard down. I saw them win 6-1 in the first set and then I went and focused on No. 1 doubles. They lost that second set and the tiebreaker just got away from them. They are usually money, and they might have been a little tight. As seventh graders, they play a lot of USTA events, so they are used to tournament pressure, but this is a different kind of pressure."

The loss put ODA (10-4) into an 0-2 hole from which it could not recover. The Thunder's Joshua Samuel and Matt Jones lost the No. 1 doubles match 6-2, 6-4. Doubles are played first in the state tournament, unlike the regular season.

When Morningside Academy's top two players, Tommaso Bagon and Zen Yoshida lost five games, combined, in their singles matches, the outcome was decided.

The singles matches involving ODA's Connor Krug, Jones and Vaughn Garcia were abandoned at that point. Both Connor Krug and Garcia were up a set and leading in the second set of their matches. Jones had lost his first set 7-5

"At the lower end of the ladder, we were winning or very competitive, so we had a realistic shot at winning that match," Killegrew said. "I feel good about the direction the team is going. Last year, we were regional runners-up. This year, we made it to states. Everyone except Vaughn is back and we have some pretty strong players coming up.

In the girls individual competition, M'Balia Bangoura won her quarterfinal match against Consuela Van Grinsven of Morningside Academy, 6-1, 6-0. Bangoura, the defending state champion and top-seed this year, advances to Thursday's semifinal at 8 a.m.

The match could be the first of four Bangoura has to play Thursday. After a first-round bye, Bangoura and Sydney Sforzo begin play in the semifinals of the doubles competition.

"I fully expect M'Balia to win the singles title again, and I think she and Sydney have a very good chance of winning doubles."

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "ODA boys tennis falls in state quarterfinals ."