Plant’s hopes of a fourth consecutive girls state championship will last until the final day.
The Panthers are among four teams clustered at the top after the first day of the Class 4A state tournament. They’ll resume play, along with rivals Boca Raton, Orlando Dr. Phillips and Cypress Bay, today at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs.
“The girls have really shown a lot of resilience,” Plant coach Jessica Lamm said.
Four Panthers advanced to the semifinals in singles, but only one — top-seeded Erica Oosterhout — will play for a state championship. She earned a 6-1, 6-1 victory to start the No. 1 singles tournament and topped Boca Raton in the semifinals.
Plant’s only first-round singles loss came at No. 4, where Lauren Corcoran lost to second-seeded Carlye Goldman 6-0, 7-5.
Both Panthers doubles teams — top seed Oosterhout/Gabrielle Rodriguez and second-seeded Corcoran/Monica Phipps — advanced past the first round.
In individual singles, Newsome’s Kylie Moulin earned a first-round bye, then beat Coral Gables’ Paulina Bejar 6-1, 6-1.
4A boys: Newsome’s Garrett Watson lost in the first round in individual singles, 6-1, 6-2. Top seed Sam Chaffin (Wharton) lost a semifinal heartbreaker, 2-6, 6-4, 11-9.
2A boys: Alex Crosby and Grantt Meredith were the two bright spots for Jesuit, whose state championship hopes took a major blow with a rough first day. Crosby (No. 3 singles) cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Nature Coast’s Dakota Wiley, and Meredith took a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 4. Both lost in the semifinals to the No. 2 seeds at Red Bug Lake Park in Casselberry.
Max Azzarelli (No. 2) lost in a tiebreaker, while Palmer Evans (No. 2) and Dean Lontoc (No. 5) both lost in straight sets.
2A girls: Olivia Rivas and Caroline Lozo earned the only two first-round singles victories for Holy Names. Both came at the expense of Pasco.
In her fifth strip to state, the second-seeded Lozo blew past Mady Johnson 6-0, 6-1. Lozo was swept in the second round by Rockledge’s Katherine Sidor.
At No. 3, Rivas claimed a 6-0, 6-3 win over Amanda Dee but lost in the semifinals to second-seeded Jenna Garrity. Rivas and Lozo also teamed up for a 6-1, 6-0 win over Pasco in the No. 1 doubles opener.