The motto all year for Coach Phil Girardi's squad is "Together We Win." The women's tennis program certainly used that as they marched towards the nationals in Arizona earlier this month. St. Petersburg College finished in the top 5 placing 4th behind Sewell County College, Hillsborough Community College and champion Tyler Junior College. The Titans hoped to be crown national champions of the tennis world and despite coming up short they certainly brought some championship hardwear home. Let us take a look back at the season that led up to SPC returning to nationals.
The Titans started their 2022 campaign on the road in Texas in the YTF Invitational. The Titans got their first win of the season winning 5-4 against Cowley County Community College. The team then fell to #1 Tyler Junior College 8-1 but, quickly bounced back winning a close game 5-4 against Seward County Community College. SPC finished the tournament 2-1 and certainly felt good as they returned home to Treasure Island.
The Titans opened their home schedule against another Titan in Eastern Florida State shutting out Eastern Florida 9-0. They then finished the month of February with a win against conference rival State College of Florida 5-4. At 4-1, SPC certainly looked to be one of the best in the country and still had plenty to play for as the season continued. Heading into March the Titans travled on I-4 to Orlando to play at the USTA Tennis Center where they faced a powerhouse program in Division I Eastern Michigan University. The team played hard and played a close match but, ultimately came up short losing to the Eagles in a close game 4-3. The Titans returned home where they once again tasted defeat at the hands of their conference rival Hillsborough CC. The Hawks grounded the Titans 7-2, but didn't shy away as they responded with strong wins against Atlantis College and State College of Florida. At 6-3, St. Petersburg College still was playing strong and was ready to make a post-season push. They marched into April where they lost 7-2 to Hillsborough and won against Eastern Florida State to end the regular season at 7-4.
The Titans played their way into the state tournament in Altamonte Springs in the FCSAA State Tournament placing 2nd behind State Champion Hillsborough CC. During the state tournament couple of Titans won their respective singles and doubles matches. Some of the victories included Sophomore Naomi McKenzie winning #1 singles defeating Hillsborough's own Arina Gamretkaia by a score of 6-4/5-7/6-2. Valeriia Cherfus won #2 singles winning 6-3/6-0 over Ita Habekovic of HCC. Lucia Garcia finished 3rd in the #5 singles. Lastly in the doubles competition, the team of Georgia Lily Lyn Browne and Karla Ortega defeated Dana Bryan and Helena Jokanovic of Eastern Florida State 8-3 to place 3rd in the #2 doubles bracket.
The Titans went on to compete in the National Tournament where the team of Naomi McKenzie and Valeriia Cherfus won the double's crown drubbing their conference foe Hillsborough CC 6-4/6-1 and planted themselves as the best duo in women's junior college tennis. As for the singles competition, Georgia Lily Lynn Browne fought her way through the round of 16 into the quarterfinals. From there Browne competed to the semifinals defeating Mbali Langa of HCC by a score of 6-3/6-2 to advance to finals. She took on #1 team in the country in Tyler JC's own Abigail Wild. Georgia defeated Wild and won the #4 singles bracket and did so in dominant fashion. Browne is by far one of the best singles competitors in the country and her skills on the court speak for itself.
Looking back on this season, the Titans of St. Petersburg College played together as a team and played for eachother. While this team will lose some veteran presence they certainly will remain a dominant force in the NJCAA and especially in the Suncoast Conference. The Titans will be back and with another piece added on this coaching staff, Coach Girardi and his Titans will look to make a statement next year and ultimately be back in the title hunt.
