The Varsity Tennis teams head into FHSAA District Tournament play this upcoming Monday, April 14th, at 9am. The Blazers will battle it out with some of the districts best tennis teams, Bradenton Christian (Girls 2-11 & Boys 7-6) , Out-of-Door Academy (Girls 5-12 & Boys 12-5), Saint Stephen's (Girls 7-4 & Boys 9-4), St. Pete Catholic (Girls 6-4 & Boys 9-1), Cardinal Mooney (Girls 6-9 & 2-13), and Admiral Farragut (Girls 1-9 & Boys 3-7) , as they compete for the chance to head to the FHSAA Regional Tournament.

The Varsity Girls Tennis team will head into the tournament with a perfect 12-0 record as a team, having beaten district opponents Out-of-Door Academy 4-3 and Bradenton 6-1 earlier this season. The Blazers will send Stella Melchiorre (10th, #1 singles), Aubrey Eggebrecht (7th, #2 singles), Haley Bolton (11th, #3 singles), Emma Ferraro (11th, #4 singles), Kaylan Weeks (12th, #5 singles), and Chrissy Cooper (11th, #6 singles) into the tournament with high hopes to advance to regional's as a team. As individuals, the Blazers have done well in all except for #1 singles this year. Eggebrecht and Melchiorre split the #2 singles position for the majority of the season, going a combined 8-3. Bolton has been strong as the #3 singles at 7-1, with Melchiorre finishing at 3-0 in the position. In the #4 singles position, the Blazers have had success from Ferraro, Bolton, and Weeks, combining for a 10-1 record. And the #5 singles position was also a strong spot for the Blazers, with Cooper and Weeks winning 9-2. In doubles, the Blazers have crushed the competition, with the #1's going 7-4 and the #2's going 11-0. Melchiorre and Eggebrecht will battle the #1's and Bolton and Ferraro will battle the #2's. The Blazers earned byes in two levels of play, with Haley Bolton earning a bye as the #3 singles position and the doubles pair of Bolton and Ferraro earning a bye in the #2 doubles competition.

The Varsity Boys Tennis team will head into the tournament with a very good 8-3 record, having just one match against district opponents, being beaten 0-7 by Out-of-Door Academy. The Blazers have a solid senior core leading the way in Isaiah Ledford (12th, #1 singles), Alex Negron (12th, #2 singles), and Trent Byers (12th, #3 singles), with Hunter Knox (8th, #4 singles), Ben Milliken (11th, #5 singles), and Preston Hedge (10th, #6 singles), rounding out the Blazers roster for the tournament. Individually, the Blazers will have to battle some tough competition in each level of play. Isaiah Ledford will battle for his 52nd win as the #1 singles, having gone 5-5 on the year. Alex Negron has been strong as the Blazers #2 singles man, holding a strong 4-1 record in the position, while the Blazers have held a 6-5 record in the position. Trent Byers will take on the #3 singles postion, which has been a tough position for the Blazers this year as we have gone 3-7 between 5 individuals. Knox Hunter will try to add to his success at the #4 singles position as he holds a 4-2 record in a position that the Blazers have a record of 5-6 at. And the fifth spot will be taken up by Ben Milliken (2-0), as he tries to nail down a position that the Blazers have had a great bit of success in this season at 8-3. On the doubles side, Ledford and Negron will likely battle it out in #1 doubles, with a record of 4-1 going into the tournament, and Milliken will pair with Hunter for the first time as the #2 doubles.

The Blazers have a very good chance to push several individuals on to the regional tournament and this tournament should be a lot of fun to watch.