Palmetto’s Gibson, Gulliver’s Mulligan, True North’s Chow are Dade Tennis Coaches of Year
Kelly Gibson’s Palmetto tennis teams had double success this season. Kelly Mulligan and Andre Chow led the girls’ teams at Gulliver Prep and True North, respectively, to championships as well.
The trio, as a result, are the Miami Herald’s Dade Tennis Coaches of the Year.
Both Palmetto teams won state titles in the same year for the third time in the past six years, also doing so in 2018 and 2019 under Gibson. It’s the seventh overall team title for the girls and seventh for the boys.
The Panthers ran through the competition at state with relative ease. The girls swept Parkland Stoneman Douglas 4-0 in the quarterfinals before beating Boca Raton Spanish River 4-1 in the semifinals and Venice 4-0 in the championship. The boys topped Weston Cypress Bay 4-1 in the quarterfinals, Vero Beach 4-1 in the semifinals and Gulf Coast 4-0 in the championship.
And, for good measure, Palmetto sophomore Ameia Sorey won the girls’ overall singles title in Class 4A as well — a first for Palmetto despite its rich history of tennis success.
Gulliver Prep won its 10th total girls’ team title — all under Mulligan’s watch — and have won four of the past seven titles in Class 2A. They are one of just six schools with at least 10 girls’ tennis team state titles, joining the ranks of Miami Beach (13), Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons (12), Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (12), Miami Sunset (10) and Boca Raton St. Andrew’s (10).
The Raiders pulled out a gutsy 4-3 win over Delray American Heritage in the quarterfinals before rolling through the rest of their run at state with a 4-0 win over Tampa Academy of the Holy Names in the semifinal and a 4-1 win over Jacksonville Bolles in the final.
And Chow’s still up-and-coming True North team won the school’s first-ever team state title in any sport by taking the crown in Class 1A.
True North upset defending state champion St. Andrew’s 5-0 in the quarterfinals, worked through a 4-2 win over Naples Community School in the semis and then shut out Pensacola Catholic 4-0 for the title.