Lake Nona’s tennis team turned a historic week into an unforgettable championship run, with sophomore Ashley Narath and senior Aspen Wooten delivering a dazzling performance in the FHSAA Class 4A individual finals. Just one day after securing the team title, the duo claimed both the singles and doubles crowns at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, proving that their chemistry on the court is as strong as their competitive fire.
Narath, making her high school debut this season, capped an undefeated campaign with a commanding 6-3, 6-2 win over fellow standout sophomore Payton Seidel-Lubowitz of Doral Academy. The victory was a statement of intent from a player who has quickly become a force in Florida high school tennis. Not content with just one trophy, Narath and Wooten teamed up to defeat Seidel-Lubowitz and Stefany Zamora 6-4, 6-4 for the doubles title, marking Lake Nona’s third consecutive state doubles championship. Wooten, who won last year’s doubles title alongside senior Gabriela Almanza, has been a pillar of consistency for the program.
Elsewhere in the boys bracket, Lake Buena Vista senior Wil Nguyen, seeded second in the 3A individual singles draw, powered through his matches with a 6-2, 6-0 win on Wednesday and a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Mason Whitesides of Punta Gorda Charlotte on Thursday. That set up a highly anticipated rematch with top seed Luca Torres-Sigler of Spoto High School, who narrowly defeated Nguyen in a third-set tiebreaker during last year’s semifinals. Tennis fans are in for a treat as these two rivals clash once again.
Trinity Prep’s boys faced a tough challenge against top-ranked True North Classical of Miami, falling 6-0 in Thursday’s semifinal, while Innovation’s boys dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to Matanzas in a Wednesday state quarterfinal. The road to the state tournament continues with region finals this weekend, leading to the FHSAA state tournament in Naples from May 7-9.
In the boys region finals, area No. 1 Winter Park (18-1) hosts Boone (16-4) in a 2A Region 2 showdown on Friday, promising a high-stakes battle between two local powerhouses. On the girls side, Saturday night’s action features area No. 1 Lake Highland Prep (18-2) hosting Berkeley Prep (11-2) in the 1A Region 2 final, while Lake Mary (18-3) travels to Ponte Vedra (14-3) in 2A-1, and Hagerty (13-9) faces Oviedo (19-1) in a backyard rivalry matchup in 2A-2.
Shifting to the diamond, Lake Brantley’s softball team continued its dominant run, rolling to a 16-4 road win against Apopka (20-5) to capture the Class 7A District 3 championship. Ninth-grader Maya Melendez was the star of the show, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, and a staggering 7 RBIs for the Patriots (22-3), who are now the area’s top-ranked team. With that kind of firepower, Lake Brantley looks poised for a deep postseason run.