Aquinas’ Deopsomer, Cypress Bay’s Brunt are Broward Tennis Coaches of the Year

Carol Deopsomer did it again, leading the St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ tennis team to yet another state title. Michael Brunt had a wildly successful first season at the helm of the Cypress Bay boys’ tennis team.

The two are the Miami Herald’s Broward Tennis Coaches of the Year.

Deopsomer’s girls’ tennis team was the only team from Broward to bring home a team title at state. It was the 13th overall for the Raiders, tying Miami Beach for the most in state history. Six of those 13 team titles have come under Deopsomer.

St. Thomas Aquinas ran the table in the Orlando area, dropping just one point in its three matches. The Raiders beat Okeechobee 5-0 in the state quarterfinals, St. Petersburgh 4-1 in the semifinals and Auburndale 5-0 in the final.

Two of Deopsomer’s top five singles players graduate this season but the Raiders will return Chloe Fouhety, a freshman who handled No. 1 singles and advanced to the Class 3A overall singles finals this season.

Brunt, meanwhile, saw his Cypress Bay boys’ team go undefeated until its Class 4A state quarterfinal game against eventual state champion Miami Palmetto. Before that season-ending loss, his team swept every one of its matches outside of a 6-1 win over West Broward when they used an alternate doubles team from their usual starting lineup.

Four of his top five players return next season, including his top two singles players in Sebastian Mendoza and Jayden Bodden, who also formed the Lightning’s No. 1 doubles tandem this season.