PALM HARBOR — St. Petersburg may have been runnerup in Tuesday’s Class 4A region semifinal, but the Green Devils made quick work of district champion Palm Harbor University. St. Petersburg won all seven matches and advanced to Thursday’s region final at Sarasota Riverview.
The region final is a rematch with Riverview, which won the district championship a week ago and swept East Lake on Tuesday.
“It’s not going to be easy, but we’re playing pretty well right now,” St. Petersburg coach Todd St. Louis said.
In regular-season matches St. Petersburg won one and lost one against PHU. The rubber match was all St. Petersburg.
Green Devils freshman Adam Ambrozy, who won the No. 1 singles title at the district tournament, defeated Greg Perenich 6-2, 6-2. Dylan Sleszynski defeated Mo Nuh 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 at No. 2, and Carl Galleuer won against Alec Brown, 6-1, 6-2. Langdon Miller won at No. 4 over Will Voitlein, 6-1, 6-1, and Dan Segundo beat Etien Mamutaj 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5.
“That was a big win for Dan,” St. Louis said. “He’s just a freshman and this was the biggest match he’s ever played in.”
The match was determined after singles play, but the teams played doubles with pro set scoring. Ambrozy and Sleszynski won at No. 1 doubles, 8-1. Galleuer and Miller won No. 2 doubles 9-7.
Eagles swept: East Lake had no luck at Sarasota Riverview, losing all five singles matches in 4A play. The teams decided not to play doubles. However, Eagles No. 1 singles player Ganesh Rajaram advances to the state tournament because of his win in the district tournament. Rajaram and teammate Ryan Hall head to states as the No. 1 doubles district champs.
“(Riverview) is a very good team,” East Lake coach Robert Carlbo said. “We’re a young team. We’ve got two juniors and the rest are freshmen and sophomores. Watch out for us next year.”
Smooth sailing for Chargers: Shorecrest will get its expected rematch with Bradenton St. Stephens in Thursday’s Class A region final after a 7-0 victory over Naples Seacrest Country Day. Nick Litsky, Peter Litsky and Logan Elder led the way at Nos. 1-3 singles. Nick and Peter Litsky also teamed to win at No. 1 doubles.
Girls
Cougars just short: The 4A match hinged on No. 2 doubles, which Sarasota Riverview pulled out to advance to Thursday’s region final, capping a 4-3 victory over Countryside. The Cougars’ No. 1 doubles team of Alex Kitchen and Shannon Wagner will advance to the state tournament after winning No. 1 doubles at the district tournament.
Eagles dominate: Unbeaten East Lake won four of five singles matches to defeat Seminole 6-1 in the 4A region semifinal.
East Lake won Nos. 1-4 singles. Angel Deng led the way with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Cailynn Madsen at No. 1. No. 2 Maddie Samkutty defeated Alexandra Jones 6-4, 6-3. Jordan Botsch defeated Amanda Mitchell 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3, and Courtney Grigsby beat Haley Shimkonis 6-0, 6-1. Seminole’s Jenna Belscher beat Ilana Rakita 6-1, 6-3.