CASSELBERRY – Boca Ciega junior Dan Stefan had to sweat out his first trip to state, rallying from an early deficit to win an individual singles state title.
His second trip was drama-free.
Stefan split the first four games Tuesday but won the rest of the way to earn his second consecutive state championship with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Archbishop McCarthy’s Dimitri Salzmann at Red Bug Lake Park.
“I realized I had to dictate the point,” Stefan said after claiming the Class 2A individual singles title.
He’ll play tomorrow for the overall state championship.
Two Hillsborough County girls earned state crowns Tuesday morning at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs.
Newsome freshman Kylie Moulin lost the first set and trailed 3-0 in the second before finally rallying. She faced triple match point later but eked out a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) tiebreaker win over East Lake’s Angel Deng.
“Thank God it’s over,” said Moulin, the tournament’s No. 2 seed.
She’ll face another county foe for the overall state title tomorrow. Plant junior Erica Oosterhout beat Orlando Dr. Phillips’ Alizee Michaud in the team No. 1 singles competition.
Oosterhout’s Panthers remained in state championship contention after the singles rounds.