Saint Stephen’s returns to the top with district tennis titles
Two years removed from runs to the state finals and one from a rebuilding season, the Saint Stephen’s boys and girls teams are back on top of Class 1A-District 9 and poised for another playoff run.
The boys finished with 26 points, ahead of runner-up Out-of-Door Academy’s 20 in the district tournament Tuesday. The Falcons girls were more dominant, scoring 25 to Out-of-Door’s 13 at Moore Athletic Complex at Turner Fields’ Falcon Tennis Center.
Both the Falcons’ boys and girls will play host to the runners-up from Class 1A-District 10 next Tuesday in Bradenton. The Thunder, which finished as the boys and girls Class 1A-9 runners-up, will travel that day to face the winner of Class 1A-10, which will be determined Wednesday in Naples.
Bradenton Christian and Cardinal Mooney, the area’s other two teams in 1A-9, finished near the bottom of the standings in both boys and girls. The Panthers’ boys and girls both scored one point. The Cougars’ girls scored seven and their boys were shut out.
The Falcons’ boys team has five new singles players this season. Saint Stephen’s girls team has four who didn’t play last season.
“All of these kids were enrolled in school last year,” Falcons boys head coach Scott Shields said of his roster. “But they didn’t come out for tennis.”
Saint Stephen’s girls have regrouped around No. 1 MaryAnn Rompf, a Wisconsin signee who was part of the 2015 team. She and Eva Tasdemir, an eighth-grader, were both at the school last year, but didn’t play. No. 4 Laura Peralozzo, a newcomer to the school, and No. 5 Cassie Huang, a seventh-grader, fill out the Falcons’ lineup along with No. 3 Sabina Budova, who played No. 2 singles last year.
All of these kids were enrolled in school last year, but they didn’t come out for tennis and they didn’t participate on the high school team.
Scott Shields
Saint Stephen’s boys head coachThe Falcons boys’ turnaround has been starker. Shields knew when he arrived on campus that if some of his best players committed, Saint Stephen’s would be able to add to 2015’s state title. Chenhe Li, the Falcons’ No. 1 singles player, is a four-star prospect, according to TennisRecruiting.net, and the No. 38 sophomore in Florida. Max Damm, Saint Stephen’s No. 2, is the son of former U.S. Open doubles champion Martin Damm. All five of the Falcons’ singles players, Shields said, compete at United States Tennis Association tournaments.
“Once one came out, then the second came out, then the third came out,” Shields said, “and then I think they realized, Hey, we’ve got a really good team here. If we all participate, we’ve got a really good team.”
Each day when they came out to the court, they were treated to reminders of the Falcons’ past success with a series of placards stuck to the side of the courts commemorating past champions.
“Coach,” Shields remembers his new-look team asking about the titles represented by the placards, “do you think we could do that?”
“If all you guys are here,” he told them, “that’s very realistic.”
David Wilson: 941-745-7057, @DBWilson2
Region semifinals
CLASS 4A-REGION 4
Boys
TBD at Sarasota Riverview, 3 p.m.
Sarasota at TBD, 3 p.m.
Girls
TBD at St. Petersburg, 3 p.m.
Sarasota Riverview at TBD, 3 p.m.
CLASS 3A-REGION 5
Boys
TBD
Girls
TBD
CLASS 2A-REGION 6
Boys
Southeast at Fort Myers Bishop Verot, 3 p.m.
Cape Coral at Englewood Lemon Bay, 3 p.m.
Girls
Cape Coral at Englewood Lemon Bay, 3 p.m.
TBD at Fort Myers Bishop Verot, 3 p.m.
CLASS 1A-REGION 5
Boys
TBD at Saint Stephen’s, 3 p.m.
Out-of-Door Academy at TBD, 3 p.m.
Girls
TBD at Saint Stephen’s, 3 p.m.
Out-of-Door Academy at TBD, 3 p.m.
All semifinal matches Tuesday.
This story was originally published April 11, 2017 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Saint Stephen’s returns to the top with district tennis titles."