Regional tennis roundup: FWB, Niceville girls one win away from state
The girls tennis programs at Fort Walton Beach and Niceville are on the precipice of going to state.
The District 1-2A champion Vikings swept District 2-2A runner-up Suwannee 7-0 in their region semifinal at Fort Walton Beach Tennis Center and the District 1-3A champion Eagles swept District 2-3A runner-up Leon 4-0 in their region semifinal match at Eagle Ram Tennis Center.
For the Eagles, Callie Delemarre and Aspen Baker didn’t drop a game in 6-0, 6-0 wins in the No. 4 and No. 5 singles spots. Audrey Hill kept winning in the No. 2 spot with a 6-1, 6-1 win and Eleanor Randolph won 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 3 spot. Annaliese Drab was winning 6-3, 1-1 when Niceville clinched the win.
Now the defending region champion Eagles are set to host longtime foe Chiles for the region title Thursday at 3 p.m. at Eagle Ram Tennis Center.
The Vikings will also play hosting duties again Thursday versus District 1 runner-up North Bay Haven, which beat Eastside 4-2 in their region quarterfinal. They’re led by the No. 1 Reese Armstrong and No. 2 Penelope Gordon, who also are students at ECT Academy.
Losing Tuesday in the Region 1-3A semifinals were the Niceville boys, who fell 4-1 to Leon after tiebreaker losses in the Nos. 3 and 4 singles slots. Niceville’s Ben Converse pulled down the only win in the no. 5 slot, while Zavier Barbary and Andrew Roberts lost in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 2 and Cole Hawkins and Sean Wingenbach split sets before losing in tiebreaker action in their respective 3/4 matches. Doubles play was not needed after singles play eliminated the Eagles.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Fort Walton Beach, Niceville tennis win FHSAA region semifinal matches
