Doral boys’, girls’ teams win state tennis titles; Ray wins singles, doubles crown

Valeria Ray has more than hype. She has three gold medals to back it.

The Doral Academy sophomore completed the high school tennis trifecta on Wednesday, winning the Class 3A girls’ overall singles and doubles state championships to add to the team state title Doral captured a day earlier, all at Sanlando Park.

“When I got here, I had the goal to bring home all three medals,” said Ray, who already captured the Junior International Orange Bowl title this year. “Obviously, you don’t go in thinking you have to do good. You can’t put that pressure on yourself because things won’t work out. You can’t think you are going to win it all. You have to work for it and that is what we did the whole week.”

Ray put away Largo’s Frankee Hendricks 6-2, 6-3 in the state singles crossover title match. She cruised through the first set but then suddenly found herself down 2-1 and a bit frustrated in the second.

“I had to keep her behind the baseline so she wouldn’t get a good down-stroke and end the point. She moved the ball very well and tried to keep me off my shots. I was pretty confident the whole match, but I was very tired having played four matches [Tuesday],” Ray said.

Ray also bashed her own knee with the racket during the singles match — a re-injury — but iced it down following the win and had no troubles with it later in doubles, where she partnered with Patricia Palencia to beat St. Thomas Aquinas tandem Mia Gonzalgo and Bella Tirico 6-1, 6-2.

“I think we went in pretty confident on how we were playing the whole week at a high level. As the match went on, we just started communicating better. The match was tough, we played these girls in regionals,” Ray said.

Doral coach Justin Puppo said Ray lived up to her lofty status, playing against some of the best players in the state this week — players familiar with her game from junior tournaments.

“She lived up to the hype and triumphed in team competition at the No. 1 position and in the individual events, singles and doubles,” Ray said.

The Doral girls — ranked No. 1 nationally by Universal Tennis Ratings — won the 3A team state championship, shutting out St. Petersburg 4-0 in the final. Winning gold medals were sophomores Valeria Ray, Brenda Yoris and Palencia, junior Valeria Centeno and eighth-graders Lauren Kettlewell and Alba Martinez.

The Doral boys also won the 3A team state championship on Tuesday, blanking St. Petersburg by the same 4-0 score in the final. Starters were senior Luis Fernandez and juniors Andres Rodriguez, Greyson and Peyton Williams and Facundo Olmedo.

However, Fernandez and Rodriguez dropped the overall doubles state title match to Seminole, losing 6-1, 6-1.

“It was a tough match,” Fernandez said. “Probably a lot tougher competition than the other matches we had. I knew it was going to be a tough match and I tried to motivate my partner. I am happy with the team championship and the doubles was our second silver. We lost a heartbreaking final against Venice in 2019. Ever since, everything was a long wait, 24 months, with the ups-and-downs through quarantine, but here we are.”

Carrollton sisters Jimena and Julieta Menendes won the 1A Individual doubles state championship on Tuesday at Sylvan Park in Sanford, topping Winter Park Geneva 7-5. 6-2. But the tandem came up short in their bid Wednesday for the overall gold medal, dropping the crossover title match to St. Andrews 6-2, 1-6, 6-10.

“The state title was really cool because I had been playing on the varsity since I was in seventh grade,” said Jimena, a senior, who will be playing college tennis at New York University.

“[St. Andrews] started going in for the attack and we started playing more defense. I think it through them off early on, but once they kind of got the rhythm, they just started poaching it. It was really hard for us to try to maneuver that.”

Carrollton coach Max Mangones said it was exciting to win a doubles title because it hasn’t happened at the school in more than a decade.

“It was thrilling, exciting and fun and I could name a few other adjectives” Mangones said.

In 2A competition, the Gulliver Prep girls will face American Heritage Plantation in a team state semifinal beginning with doubles at 8 a.m. at Red Bug Lake Park.

Additionally, Isabella Rojas (LaSalle) and Akasha Urhobo (Pine Crest) reached the individual girls singles semifinals and Nicolas Rebelledo (MAST) reached the individual boys singles semis, taking place at Sylvan Park.

In 4A, the Douglas girls meet Palmetto in a team state semi while Cypress Bay boys square off with Dr. Krop in a team semifinal. Both start with doubles at Sanlando at 8. Individually, Julen Morgan of Ferguson reached the boys’ singles semis.