Seabreeze boys, girls tennis teams place third at Five Star Conference championships

Flagler Palm Coast's girls and Spruce Creek's boys won the team titles at the rain-interrupted tournament.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 11:55 p.m. March 28, 2022
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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A downpour interrupted the Five Star Conference tennis championships March 24 at the Florida Tennis Center in Daytona Beach. Nine high schools competed in the annual tournament which wrapped up the following day.

The Flagler Palm Coast girls team upset powerhouse Spruce Creek with a first-place finish while the Hawks’ boys team switched places with the Bulldogs and brought home the title. Both Seabreeze boys and girls teams placed third.

“I think we could have gone further in the overall in other lines, but we underperformed,” said Seabreeze coach Trishna Patel. “It happens. It was a learning experience. The team agreed we will work on closing the gap against the top two schools. I know we have the talent to do that.”

Seabreeze’s No. 1 singles player, Mac Chiumento, finished second, falling to University freshman Daksh Talati in the final. He and his doubles partner, Leo Kwetkus, lost to Spruce Creek’s Hayden Ensminger and Jenson Nord in the No. 1 doubles semifinals. Ensminger and Nord went on to win the final.

The Sandcrabs’ girls team was dealt a negative blow when their No. 1 singles player, Geraldine Garcia, resigned to focus on her competitive tennis career. Freshman Riya Arab has taken her spot with sophomore Hailee Ochipa moving up to No. 2.

“It feels good,” Arab said. “I have to stay calm more, because I feel under pressure a lot, but I think I’m going to do well. I try to stay focused but not too much; otherwise, I feel like I’ll choke.”

This is the second time Arab and Ochipa have played doubles together. The first time was against New Smyrna Beach, where they won 8-0.

“I love the competition,” Ochipa said. “School matches are great, but the level of competition we get here is just fun and it goes all day.”

Arab started playing tennis seriously at 8 years old. She is also passionate about soccer and divides her school year between the two sports. Ochipa picked up a racket at the age of 3 but began playing year-round at 12. She has been playing for three years on Patel’s club team — the Trailblazers.

Last season, Ochipa played a No. 2 doubles match at districts that lasted three hours. She said she loves the camaraderie of high school tennis.

“During that match, the entire New Smyrna team and our Seabreeze team cheered for us against Gainesville,” she said. “It was nerve-racking but really fun.”

 

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