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A FHSAA Spokesperson has informed USTA Florida that the Individual/Overall Bracket is currently only being tracked on paper and will be uploaded to Play Tennis at a later date. USTA Florida will update this article with that information when it becomes available. (Updated as of May 7, 2025)

1A/3A Recap

High School tennis athletes from across the state have come together in Central Florida to compete in the Florida High School Athletic Association Tennis State Championships for 1A and 3A. Taking place at Sanlando, Red Bug Lake, and Sylvan Lake Park, the past couple of days have been filled with intense matches and dreams turning to realities.   

Over the past few months, every point, game, and set has culminated to this moment, to determine the best in the state. At the FHSAA Tennis State Championships there are Team and Individual brackets. As part of the Team Draw, the No. 1 line for each school will compete in the Team’s Individual bracket, where the winner will match up against the player that won the Individual bracket. The individual bracket features some of the best tennis players in the state whose team did not qualify for the State Championships. The winner of that match will become the Overall Champion for that specific class (Team’s Individual Draw winner against Individual Draw winner).    

Class 2A Recap 

Over in Class 2A, the competition has been heating up all year, with new faces and familiar foes in the mix.  

For the Boy’s draw, American Heritage Delray entered with hopes of a three-peat. They faced off with Citrus in their opening round and the two-time defending champs took care of business. They won 4-0 and throughout that, they only dropped 1 game, where their top line of doubles won 4-1, 4-0. 

Aubrey Rogers and Gulliver Prep also took care of their opening round matches as they rolled to easy wins over Robinson and Lake Highland Prep in their respective matches.  

One of the more entertaining matches in the first round came between North Bay Haven Charter Academy and Bolles. The Doubles matches were arguably some of the most competitive matches the FHSAA Tennis State Championships has seen this year. Nicolas Silva (North Bay) and Pherson Gant (North Bay) on the top line took an exciting back and forth match that went three sets. They dropped the opening set in a 5-4 tiebreaker but stormed back to win the second and then took the third set 10-8. On Line 2, Timber Grant (North Bay) and Iker Poole (North Bay) also dropped their first set but battled back winning the second and forcing a tiebreaker set. This was super competitive, and it came down to just two points as North Bay took it and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match. Backs against the wall, Bolles needed perfection. Dhruv Pandya (Bolles) on Line 2 was able to bounce back from a tough loss in doubles to win his match. Luke Kunkle (Bolles) also shook off the doubles match he lost and won his Line 4 match. Juan Abenia (Bolles) was coming into singles with fresh legs as he didn’t compete in a doubles match. He won his Line 3 match. Michael Zhang (Bolles) battled with Pherson Gant, and after going the distance to a third set, Michael pulled out a 10-4 win in the set to secure four singles matches for Bolles and a spot in the semifinals.  

This saw matchup’s of Bolles against American Heritage Delray and Aubrey Rogers against Gulliver Prep. American Heritage Delray, with their eyes set on the three-peat were destined to put together a strong performance. They got things started in Doubles, where the top pair of Ajinkya Karnataki and Yanni Anagnostopoulos took a 4-2, 4-0 win over the Bolles top duo. Geoff Kosseifi (American Heritage Delray) and Karl Volles (American Heritage Delray) on Line 2 had the same outcome, winning 4-2, 4-0 in their match and giving American Heritage a 2-0 lead going into singles. On Line 5, John Baumann (Bolles) put together a great performance, getting Bolles on the board with a 6-1, 6-1 win. However, it would be the two-time defending champs the rest of the way. Geoff Kosseifi on Line 3, took his match convincingly with a 6-0, 6-2 win. And, on the top line, Ajinkya Karnataki won his match 6-1, 6-1 to put American Heritage Delray back in the Team State Championship match! 

In the other semifinals, it was Aubrey Rogers taking on Gulliver Prep. Things started hot for Gulliver Prep as the top line of Maximo Lopina (Gulliver Prep) and Alexander Zelenov (Gulliver Prep) came out swinging, winning 4-1, 4-0. Their second line, made up of Tomas Orrego (Gulliver Prep) and Lorenzo Martinez (Gulliver Prep) followed in their footsteps, dominating their match in a 4-1, 4-1 win. Jumping into singles, it was more of the same for Gulliver Prep. John O’Brien (Gulliver Prep) won his Line 4 match 6-0, 6-0, and Nicolas Verdu (Gulliver Prep) took Line 5 6-0, 6-1 to give Gulliver Prep the sweep and a date to try and dethrone American Heritage Delray. 

The stage was set for Boy’s 2A Team Finals as American Heritage Delray and Gulliver Prep went toe-to-toe. In Doubles, the top pair once again of Ajinkya and Yanni (American Heritage Delray) proved to be a top force. Tomas and Lorenzo (Gulliver Prep) didn’t go away easily though, after dropping the first set they stormed back, winning 4-2 and forcing the tiebreaker set. But, Ajinkya and Yanni found their groove again, taking it 10-4. The second pair of Geoff and Karl (American Heritage Delray) won their match in convincing fashion, 4-2, 4-0, to bring the three-peat closer. In Singles, Gulliver Prep was able to get on the board first, with a Line 3 win from Alexander Zelenov. He took the first set then his opponent had to retire due to injury. However, American Heritage Delray didn’t back down. Misha Liberzon (American Heritage Delray) swept his Line 5 match and then Karl Ekstrand (American Heritage Delray) brought home the three-peat, winning his Line 4 match. 

Over on the Girl’s side of the State Championship, American Heritage Plantation, who knocked out American Heritage Delray, the defending champs, in Regionals this year, were looking to put the icing on top of a great season. It was a close Line 1 Doubles match for American Heritage Plantation, but they took that and rolled to a sweep win over McKeel. 

Another top story in 2A is Barron Collier, a team that has found tons of recent success in 3A but has been reclassed to join the teams in 2A. They too found their groove early, winning 4-0 over Stanton.  

Lake Highland Prep and Gulliver Prep also joined in on the sweep parade and they cruised through their opening round matchups against Lakewood and Fort Walton Beach. This set up semifinals between American Heritage Planation and Lake Highland Prep (LHP), with Gulliver Prep taking on Barron Collier.  

American Heritage Planation jumped out early, but Lake Highland Prep was playing some good tennis in Doubles. On Line 2, Ava Zikria (American Heritage Planation) and Amily Huang (American Heritage Planation) matched up with Lauren Change (LHP) and Lizzie McDonough (LHP). In the opening set, Lizzie and Lauren battled their way to an intense 5-4 win, taking the tiebreaker 12-10. However, Ava and Emily swung right back, winning the second set 4-0. This forced the third-set tiebreaker, where Ava and Emily took control for American Heritage Planation and won 10-5. Tina Tin Oi Liu (American Heritage Planation) and Angelina Lin (American Heritage Planation) took a top line win over Authumie Dhaiti (LHP) and Priyana Thakkar (LHP) in a 4-2, 4-2 match. In Singles, it was more domination from American Heritage. Tina Tin Oi Liu took the top line 6-1, 6-3, Emily Huang swept her Line 2 match, and Angelina Lin won her Line 3 match to help send her team to the finals.  

 

Looking to clinch their spot in the finals, Gulliver Prep and Barron Collier clashed in a great matchup. On Line 2, Natalia Pegram (Barron Collier) and Nadia Parsa (Barron Collier) were in a dogfight with Maya Quintero (Gulliver Prep) and Hanna Matuk (Gulliver Prep). The Gulliver Prep duo took the first set in an intense 5-4 tiebreaker. But the Barron Collier pair bounced back, forcing a third-set tiebreaker. Here, it was more back-and-forth action as points were being traded. In the end, it was Natalia and Nadia who edged out an 11-9 win for Barron Collier. While that was happening, the Barron Collier top doubles team took their match as well to give Barron Collier a 2-0 lead heading into singles. The newcomers in 2A kept that momentum going as Chelsea Casapu (Barron Collier) on Line 1 and Katie Ruci (Barron Collier) on Line 2, cruised to wins to put them in the championship against American Heritage Planation. 

The championship was one of the cloests finals in recent years. The match lasted over six hours and featured a three-hour doubles matchup. Katie Ruci and Chelsea Casapu (Barron Collier) secured a quick 4-1, 4-1 win on the top line, but Line 2 was a marathon. Emily Huang and Ava Zikria (American Heritage Plantation) faced off against Nadia Parsa and Natalia Pegram (Barron Collier). Neither pair would back down, as the first set was taken by Emily and Ava in a tiebreaker. The second set was much of the same, but this time Nadia and Natalia battled to take a 5-3 win. The 10-point tiebreaker was thrilling as well. Both sets of girls were battling and leaving it all on the court. In the end, Emily and Ava were able to pull out a 10-8 and even the score at 1-1. Moving into singles, the matches were still incredibly close. Things got going on Line 5 as Ellie Bill (American Heritage Plantation) won 7-5, 6-2 over Kate Freshwater (Barron Collier). Another great match came in the top line as Chelsea Casapu (Barron Collier) and Tina Tin Oi Liu (American Heritage Plantation), were going back-and-forth. Tina dominated the first set with a 6-2 win, but Chelsea kept her composure and took the second set 6-3. These two girls were leaving everything they had on the court. Unfortunately, for Tina, she was forced to retire 5 points into the tiebreaker as she was dealing with cramps in her legs. This would once again even the score at 2-2. The next match to end came on Line 2, where Emily Huang (American Heritage Plantation) took a thrilling three-set match over Katie Ruci (Barron Collier). Katie took control of the match, winning the first set 6-2, but Emily fired right back with a 6-0 win in the next set. The tiebreaker was controlled by Emily as she got a lead and never looked back, putting American Heritage on match point. All eyes turned to Line 3, where Nadia Parsa (Barron Collier) and Angelina Lin (American Heritage Plantation) were locked into an intense match. Nadia found a break and took the opening set 6-4, but that didn’t stop Angelina. After falling down 0-4 in the second set, she brought it all the way back and forced a tiebreaker, where she won 7-5 to move into the final set. This was extremely close as neither girl could take more than two points at a time off one another. It went the distance, but Angelina found a few points in a row to win 13-11 and claim the State Championship for American Heritage Plantation.  

FULL RESULTS:     

  • Boys Team Champions: American Heritage Delray 
  • Boys Team Finalist: Gulliver Prep 
  • Girls Team Champions: American Heritage Plantation 
  • Girls Team Finalist: Barron Collier 
  • Boys Overall Singles Champion: William Freshwater, Barron Collier
  • Boys Overall Singles Finalist: TBD 
  • Boys Overall Doubles Champions: TBD 
  • Boys Overall Doubles Finalist: TBD 
  • Girls Overall Singles Champion: Bridget Chalich, Pine Crest
  • Girls Overall Singles Finalist: TBD 
  • Girls Overall Doubles Champions: TBD 
  • Girls Overall Doubles Finalist: TBD

Class 4A Recap 

In Class 4A, some of Florida’s best tennis has been played here in recent years. For the Boy’s, Doral Academy entered with their eyes set on defending their title from a year ago. In their opening round match against Lake Mary, they did just that, taking them down in a 5-0 sweep. 

The finalists from last year, Cypress Bay, also made it back to the Final 8, this time looking for revenge. They would handle business with a win over Buchholz. The two would split the doubles, but Cypress Bay dominated singles to move on in the tournament.  

Steinbrenner would also follow suit in their matchup against Spanish River. Dante Adriano Massetta (Spanish River) the Line 1 player for Spanish River took his Singles Match 6-0, 6-1, but unfortunately, that was all they would get as Steinbrenner cruised to a 4-1 win.  

Lake Nona would also advance to the semifinals, but it wasn’t easy as Winter Haven wouldn’t go down without a fight. The two teams would split doubles and have everyone’s eyes looking at singles. Former Bobby Curtis winner, Benjmain Saltman (Winter Haven), would control his Line 1 match, winning 6-3, 6-3. But, Lake Nona was able to take Lines, 3, 4, and 5 to secure a 4-2 win. 

The semifinals were now set with Lake Nona playing Cypress Bay, and Doral Academy against Steinbrenner.  

Starting with Lake Nona and Cypress Bay, there were tons on the line. Lake Nona looking to get back to a state final for the first time in a couple years, and Cypress Bay on their revenge tour. In the second line of Doubles, Devak Mandla (Lake Nona) and Juan Orta (Lake Nona) were battling with Rolando Torrellas (Cypress Bay) and Andres Gerdel (Cypress Bay). The Cypress duo took the opening set in a thriller that went to a tiebreaker. However, the Lake Nona pair would answer back with a second set win. In the third-set tiebreaker it was all Lake Nona as Devak and Juan took it 10-5. Shay Gupta (Lake Nona) and Malhar Patel (Lake Nona) would win their top line match to give Lake Nona a 2-0 lead heading into singles. While Cypress Bay had some close matches, like Andres’ on Line 4 and Sebastian Elias (Cypress Bay) on Line 3, those matches were abandoned as Lake Nona took Line 1 and 5 to give the ma 4-0 win and spot in the championship.  

Looking to meet Lake Nona was Doral Academy and Steinbrenner. Much like most of the FHSAA State Championships, the doubles matches were extremely tight. Josh Spier (Steinbrenner) and Christian Vinca (Steinbrenner) on the top line faced Romain Azais (Doral) and Gabriel Cottone (Doral). The Doral pair struck first with a set one win, but Steinbrenner’s best took the second set. In the third-set tiebreaker, the boys were giving it their all and eventually Josh and Christian pulled out a 10-7 win. Doral would fire back on Line 2, with a win from Samuel Rosales Stephen (Doral) and Andres Elias Matos Bisarini (Doral). Moving into singles though, it was all Doral, as the defending champs couldn’t be stopped. Romain took his Line 1 match 6-2, 6-0. Juan Benito (Doral) dominated on Line 5, and a win from Andres Elias helped secure Doral Academy’s spot back in the finals.  

This championship match was one for the ages as it came down to the wire and every line mattered. On the top line of doubles, Malhar Patel and Shay Gupta (Lake Nona) cruised to a nice 4-1, 4-2 win for Lake Nona. However, Samuel Rosales Stephen Andres Elias Matos Bisarini (Doral) also got a nice win for Doral, winning 4-2, 4-0. All evened up, all of the singles matches were going to matter. Andres was able to keep it going for Doral with a win on Line 4. Shay Gupta was able to answer next for Lake Nona with a strong 6-1, 7-6 win on Line 2. Juan Orta (Lake Nona) was the next match winner as he took a close 7-6, 7-5 win on Line 3 over Gabriel Cottone (Doral). Doral wouldn’t go down though, as Line 5 player, Juan Benito (Doral) won another close match, 7-5, 7-6 over Devak Mandla (Lake Nona) to even the score at 3-3 and turning eyes to the top line. Here, Malhar Patel (Lake Nona) and Romain Azais (Doral) were battling. They each traded opening set wins at 6-3, having the title come down to a 10-point tiebreaker. This was close and both were evenly matched. Neither could find a pathway to cruise through this as points were going back-and-forth, but it was Malhar who took a few in a row to win 10-8 and secure the championship for Lake Nona.  

 

For the Girl’s, familiar faces filled the bracket as they all were battling to be the last team standing. Steinbrenner looked to defend their title, and they got off on the right foot, taking down Newsome in a 4-0 match. Lake Nona and Miami Palmetto, teams that have had recent success in 4A, also earned sweep wins over Winter Park and Cypress Bay in their respective matches.  

There was tons of excitement between Wellington and Spruce Creek as these two teams went the distance, where every line mattered. In doubles, it was a split as Keira Uter (Wellington) and Raya Dittfurth (Wellington) took an intense three-set tiebreaker 10-8 on the top line. While on Line 2, Irina Tabacila (Spruce Creek) and Khloe Akopian (Spruce Creek) cruised through their match 4-1, 4-0. With everything even heading into singles, you could feel the tension in the air. Raya was able to get Wellington on top with a Line 1 win over Giselle Adekunle (Spruce Creek), but Line 2 was taken by Wellington as Kayla Wheeler (Wellington) earned a win over Keira. On Lines 3 and 4, Khloe was able to take the match for Wellington while Anushka Naidu (Spruce Creek) evened it out for Spruce Creek. All eyes now turned to Line 5, where Bundza Campbell (Spruce Creek) and Laasya Sai Movva (Wellington) were in a dogfight. Bundza claimed the first set with a strong 6-2 showing, but Laasya came right back with a 6-3 win of her own. In the tiebreaker it was back-and-forth, with points being traded, but in the end, it was Wellington’s Laasya, who won 10-6 and moved onto the semifinals.  

The matchups were set with Lake Nona taking on the defending champs in Steinbrenner and Miami Palmetto facing off with Wellington. For Steinbrenner, they seemed to have met their match as Lake Nona took both Doubles and did so without dropping a game. Moving into singles, Malaika Chinyerere (Steinbrenner) the top Line, took a thrilling three-set match over Aspen Wooten (Lake Nona), winning the tiebreaker 10-8. However, Lake Nona’s other lines were firing, as they took Lines 3 and 5, taking down the defending champions and booking their spot in the championship. 

With Lake Nona awaiting the winner, Wellington and Miami Palmetto were eager to win their matches. Like the other semifinals, Miami Palmetto came out hot, winning both doubles and taking a strong 2-0 lead heading into singles. Once again for Wellington, Raya was able to pull out a tough win for her team, taking another three-set thriller. However, the sister duo of Camille Chellas (Miami Palmetto) and Madeleine Chellas (Miami Palmetto) took wins on Lines 3 and 4 to secure the win for Miami Palmetto and move onto the finals! 

Once again, the championship delivered incredible tennis as these two evenly matched teams were destined to come out with the win. On the top line of Doubles, it was Lake Nona who got the first win as Aspen Wooten and Gabriela Almanza took a 4-2, 4-1 win. Line 2 was extremely close as Madeleine Chellas and Lucia Siddens (Miami Palmetto) were fighting with Ariana Barber and Shrika Moturi (Lake Nona). It went the distance to a tiebreaker set, where Madeleine and Lucia were able to edge out a 10-8 win. Turning to singles, both teams knew each line was going to matter. With that said, Shrika shook off the tough loss in doubles and won 6-2, 6-3 on Line 5 for Lake Nona. However, the sisters Camille and Madeleine Chellas each found wins on Line 3 and 4 for Miami Palmetto and took a 3-2 lead. Line 2 was controlled by Lake Nona as Gabriela took a convincing win, putting all the pressure onto the top line. Here, Aspen Wooten (Lake Nona) and Catherin Cardona-Carballosa (Miami Palmetto) were deadlocked. They traded the first two sets with 7-5 wins each, moving into a third-set tiebreaker for the State Championship. To the theme of the FHSAA Championships, the final set was super competitive as points were being traded. In the end, it was Catherin who claimed a 10-6 win and earned Miami Palmetto its second title in three years! 

 

FULL RESULTS:     

  • Boys Team Champions: Lake Nona 
  • Boys Team Finalist: Doral Academy 
  • Girls Team Champions: Miami Palmetto 
  • Girls Team Finalist: Lake Nona 
  • Boys Overall Singles Champion: Ben Saltman, Winter Haven
  • Boys Overall Singles Finalist: Stefan Correa, Miami Palmetto
  • Boys Overall Doubles Champions: Ben Saltman/Wiley Simpson, Winter Haven
  • Boys Overall Doubles Finalist: Stefan Correa/Beau Gibson, Miami Palmetto
  • Girls Overall Singles Champion: Savita Bagirathan, Stoneman Douglas 
  • Girls Overall Singles Finalist: TBD 
  • Girls Overall Doubles Champions: Aspen Wooten/Gabriela Almanza, Lake Nona
  • Girls Overall Doubles Finalist: Payton Seidle-Lubowitz/Stefany Zamora, Doral Academy

Posted by Jaret Kappelman

Marketing & Communications Coordinator for USTA Florida

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