VENICE — The Venice tennis teams swept both the boys and girls 4A-8 district championships, upending Riverview (girls) and Sarasota (boys) on Tuesday afternoon at Venice High.
It was the second season in a row that both teams won district titles.
“I’m not sure that’s ever happened here before,” said Venice head coach Wayne Robertson of the back-to-back titles.
The boys won all seven finals matches, sweeping the competition to earn all 21 possible points as a team.
“A month ago, I was still wondering where this team was going to finish in all of this,” Robertson said. “They managed to finish the regular season with two really good wins over Riverview and Sarasota, and that kind of just carried over into districts here.”
Hayden Guthrie beat Riverview’s Nelson Lu (6-2, 6-3) at 5 singles, Simon Ayer defeated Riverview’s Bennett Stencik (6-3, 6-2) at 4 singles and Joseph Calleja won a tightly contested match against Sarasota’s Jack Scarlett at 3 singles.
At the top, Ariston Spanos took out Sarasota’s William Blagdon (6-3, 6-4) at 1 singles for Venice, while Grant Burroughs handled Sarasota’s Cade Ryan (6-1, 6-4) at 2 singles.
Spanos and Burroughs narrowly beat Blagdon and Ryan (6-2, 4-6, 10-8) in 1 doubles, while Calleja and Ayer escaped against Jack Berke and Brum (6-3, 7-5) in 2 doubles.
The girls team kept its unscathed record alive, winning five of the seven finals matches over Riverview.
“We felt that it could’ve gone either way with Riverview (Tuesday),” Robertson said. “When we played them in the regular season, all of the matches were close. To win five matches against them is a great accomplishment.”
The winners in the singles matches were Christine Wu over Molly Dillon (6-2, 6-0) at 2 singles, Joy Jia over Amelia Hilton (6-2, 6-2) at 3 singles, Koreena Hickey over Kathleen Siddons (6-1, 6-0) at 4 singles and Sophia Teijelo over Clara Class (6-4, 5-7, 8-6) at 5 singles.
Venice split the doubles matches, with Tess Tchorbadjiev and Faye Klutke beating Hilton and Siddons (6-3, 6-2) at 2 doubles.
Next, the Indians will host regionals against Strawberry Crest at Venice High next Tuesday and Thursday.
BOYS LACROSSE: Gulf Coast 13, Venice 3
The Indians' first-ever appearance in a district championship started out strong, but quickly got out of hand after a promising first quarter.
Venice led Gulf Coast, 2-1, at the end of the opening quarter, getting goals from Aiden Sleigher and Chris Lagos.
"We came out with great energy and looked good early," Venice head coach Dan Crane said.
The wheels began to come off in the second quarter, though, with the Sharks scoring five unanswered throughout the frame to bring a 6-2 lead into halftime.
"We really didn't execute, made some mistakes and that led to some goals we usually wouldn't give up," Crane said. "Credit to Gulf Coast. We knew they were a good offensive team coming in, and they showed it."
Things didn't get any easier in the second half for Venice, as Gulf Coast continued to extend its lead.
The Sharks led by as many as 11 (13-2 in the fourth quarter) at one point on Wednesday.
Venice's third-and-final goal came late in the fourth when Owen Alford got a shot past Gulf Coast goalkeeper Tristan Cutrone.
Cutrone put on a show in goal for the Sharks, making 21 saves in the win.
"That was one of the best goalie performances I've seen," Crane said. "That guy deserves all the credit."
Venice will continue its season in regionals next week. It'll find out its seeding and opponent over the weekend.
"We have to turn the page, flush this loss and move on to the next one," Crane said. "We have an opportunity to redeem ourselves, and I think every one of these kids would love that chance. With the season we've had, we don't want it to end like this."
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