Tennis: Road won't be easy for Wharton

Any district with a two-time defending state champion in it is going to be a tough one.

Add in Freedom, Newsome and Plant, and it becomes about as tough a district can get.

Wharton's boys remain the team to beat in Class 4A-District 5. The two-time defending state champs have their sights set on a third, but the others plan to make their path difficult.

Freedom is getting a quick look at how tough the district is with matches against Plant and Newsome in the span of three days.

Freedom lost its first match of the season Monday against Plant. Led by top players Tristan Kaye and Brenton D'Adamo, the Panthers defeated the Patriots 5-2, getting victories in all five singles matches. Freedom won both doubles matchups.

Next up for the Patriots is Newsome, featuring Colin Edwards, a state doubles finalist last year, and Hunter McCampbell, a No. 2 doubles and No. 4 singles district champion last season. The teams are scheduled to meet Thursday.

Freedom upset Newsome last season, handing the Wolves their first loss of the year, and one of only two in the regular season. The Patriots had to deal with Plant and Wharton in their district last year, but Newsome was thrown into the mix with realignments.

Wharton is saving the best for last by closing its regular season with matches against Plant (March 25), Freedom (March 31) and Newsome (April 1).

The girls teams are equally competitive and also feature a state champion. Plant, which won Hillsborough County's first girls tennis state title last year, defeated Freedom on Monday without top player Amber Li, who is nursing an ankle injury.

The Panthers, who have improved this season with the addition of five-star recruit Blair Martin, face Newsome and its freshman twins, Alaina and Savannah Ewing, on April 5.

Net points

Several area players performed well at this past weekend's Scott Linder Jr. Super Series in Lakeland. Newsome's Edwards, the No. 1 seed, advanced to the semifinals before falling 6-0, 6-1 to five-star recruit Oliver Benneweis-Pramming, who defeated No. 5 seed Jackson Murphy of Hillsborough in the final, 6-3, 6-2.

On the girls side, Plant's Martin and Chamberlain's Nicole Mera advanced to the semifinals. Martin took fourth-seed Marissa Brossard to three sets, losing 3-6, 6-1, 10-1. Mera lost to eventual champion Anastasia Nefedova, 6-3, 6-3.