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« Wednesday, June 4, 2014 « 5C
ALL-AREA BOYS TENNIS TEAM
PLAYER OF THE YEAR Elio Livi
All-Area First Team
Marcello Balderrama
Andrew Blair
Avery Davis
Colter DeCoste
Wyatt Lovera
Tommy Martinez
ALEX SLITZ/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS
Erik Olliges
Logan Walker
Zack Walker
Eric Zwemer
Marcello Balderrama
Morningside Academy senior Notable: Balderrama was a perfect 14-0 at No. 4 singles to finish his high school career undefeated in two seasons. He won the District 11-1A title at No. 4 singles and teamed to win the No. 2 doubles title. He won a championship title in singles at the Class 1A state tournament and teamed with Logan Walker to finish as the state runner-up in No. 2 doubles.
Andrew Blair
John Carroll senior Notable: Blair finished with an 11-1 record, winning the District 12-1A No. 1 singles championship for the second consecutive year. He also was part of the winning No. 1 doubles team. Blair was undefeated until losing his first match at the state championships.
Avery Davis
Jensen Beach sophomore Notable: Davis moved up to No. 2 singles, after playing in the third slot as a freshman, finishing with an 8-2 record and advancing to the finals at the Class 3A state championships before losing. Davis won the District 14-3A title in his division.
Colter DeCoste
Jensen Beach sophomore Notable: DeCoste went 6-2 at No. 1 singles and won the District 14-3A championship, shutting out his opponent. DeCoste picked up his final win of the season in Jensen Beach’s regional semifinal. His two losses were in the regional finals and the first round of the state tournament.
Wyatt Lovera
Morningside Academy senior Notable: Lovera finished his high school career without a loss by going 14-0 at No. 2 singles for the secondyear program. He also was undefeated as a junior. He won district titles in No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles, was the Class 1A No. 2 singles champ and teamed with Elio Livi to win the No. 1 doubles championship.
Tommy Martinez
St. Lucie West Centennial freshman Notable: Martinez caught the eye of many coaches with his play, finishing 10-2 in No. 1 singles and 11-1 in doubles in his first year at Centennial. Martinez advanced to the semifinals at the District 9-4A tournament where his season ended.
Morningside Academy’s Elio Livi is the 2014 Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers All-Area Boys Tennis Player of the Year. To see more photos, go to TCPalm.com.
Livi doubles top honors
For second straight year, Morningside star is player of year By Aimee Ford Foster Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers
Truth be told, Elio Livi never faced much competition on the high school tennis court. Until this spring, though, Livi never got the chance to see just how well he stacked up to the top players in the state. The answer? Livi simply was the best as he roared through the postseason, snagging district and regional titles on his way to the greatest prize of all. Livi won the Class 1A state championship at No. 1 singles, teamed with Wyatt Lovera to win the No. 1 doubles and won the overall state championship in both. His play through the postseason helped Morningside Academy win the Class 1A state team championship, the school’s first in any sport. For his achievements, Livi has been named the 2014 Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers Boys Tennis Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. “It’s definitely an honor,” he said. “I thank God for giving me tennis, for giving me the privilege of playing at Club Med. Winning the award once was more than I had hoped. To win it twice is just an honor. I’m really happy that I was able to accomplish something with my tennis.” Livi’s run through the tournament was sweetened by the fact that it was the first time Morningside was able to compete in the postseason. In 2013, the school was ruled ineligible by the Florida High School Athletic Association because the school received and gave impermissible benefits. “This year felt like vindication,” Livi said. “Waiting two years for this has been a little agonizing. We’ve been waiting a long time for
Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
Elio Livi
Randy Stone
Morningside Academy senior Notable: Livi finished with an 11-1 record in No. 1 singles, and won every championship he played, beginning with No. 1 singles and doubles at the District 12-1A tournament. After winning both his regional matches, Livi won the No. 1 singles championship at the Class 1A state tournament, was part of the winning No. 1 doubles team and won the overall state championships in both for Class 1A. Livi will play for Boston University next year. Coach Randy Stone: “He was absolutely fun to watch. He is a skilled tennis player, a competitive tennis player. He is everything you’re looking for in a high school athlete, a student athlete. Elio is as nice a person and young man as he is a tennis player, and he’s very competitive, wants to do his best and has the desire to win. He is a good representation of what high school athletics is supposed to be.”
Morningside Academy, first year This season: The school’s athletic director became the tennis coach on the eve of the season and guided the team to the Class 1A state championship after winning district and regional titles,and finishing 9-0 in dual matches. Stone, the academy’s basketball coach who has no background in tennis, was able to successfully juggle the lineup through illness and injury, all while making sure the starters each played enough matches to qualify for postseason play. The four seniors all made multiple college visits during the season. Quotable: “I was so happy for the boys and to be able to share this moment with this group of boys because they’re such good kids, because they’re good athletes, they’re easy to coach and easy to work with. That’s what makes coaching fun for any coach for any team. It was definitely satisfying, but I think the team made it easy to be able to coach them, to be able to work with them, just because of their individual skills that they have and the desire to play as a team, represent the school and accomplish those goals.”
this, but the fact that it’s all over now, and we took states, we feel complete now.” The year-end run also was satisfying given the struggles that Livi faced during the regular season. Livi, who will play tennis at Boston University next year, said he had walking pneumonia for part of the season which he finished 11-1. Drew Engel, of W.T. Dwyer High School, beat Livi 8-4. It was Livi’s only loss in two seasons at Morningside. “He had to overcome some obstacles that maybe in years past he hadn’t, because of sickness and injury that he was fighting through,” coach Randy Stone said. “It was overcoming those obstacles that made him a greater tennis player and a better person.” Livi played despite the illness to ensure he had enough matches to qualify for the postseason. “I knew that I had to step it up and play through,” he said. “I had an inhaler given to me by the doctor in case I had an attack. But I lost like 8 pounds because of the walking pneumonia. So that match, I knew I didn’t have to win,
but had to compete and play the match and try to recover in time for state. “I felt terrible, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to recover to my prime. But it was like a blessing in disguise. Because losing those 8 pounds, I saw how out of shape I was and how skinny, so it got me to go to the gym and work harder and give my 100 percent.” That was evident on his run through the state tournament. In singles play, Livi wasn’t challenged until the championship match. He lost only three sets in his first two matches, before digging deep to win the final 6-3, 7-5. The march to the No. 1 doubles title with Lovera played out in a similar fashion. After easy wins in the first two matches, the pair hung on to win the final in split sets 6-2, 2-6, 11-9. That match provided perhaps his favorite moment of the season. “With all of our moments together, it’s hard to say because (the team is) such a close family,” Livi said. “I would have to say in the doubles team finals, we were down 9-8 in the third-set
tiebreaker and it was my fault. I had missed an easy volley. We had to rally and we ended up winning with a backhand winner ... at that moment, we connected and ended up winning the match.”
Logan Walker
Zack Walker
Eric Zwemer
First Team continued Erik Olliges
Vero Beach sophomore Notable: Olliges was 11-1 at No. 1 singles, finishing as the District 9-4A runner-up while teaming to win the No. 1 doubles title. He won both his matches in regional tournament play to help Vero Beach advance to the state tournament. Poll: Olliges topped the TCPalm.com all-area readers poll with 72 percent of the votes.
Morningside Academy senior Notable: Walker finished 14-1 at No. 3 singles, winning the district in his flight and teaming to win the No. 2 doubles title at district. Walker’s only loss was in the state Class 1A state semifinals. He teamed with Marcello Balderrama to advance to the finals in No. 2 doubles at the 1A state tournament.
Morningside Academy sophomore Notable: Walker was the workhorse of the team, finishing with a 16-0 record at No. 5 singles, although he moved around the lineup as needed. He won the district tournament and was the No. 5 singles state champion in Class 1A.
Vero Beach sophomore Notable: Zwemer went 10-4 at No. 2 singles, finishing as the District 9-4A runner-up. He teamed to win the No. 2 doubles championship at the district. Zwemer was named the team MVP by coach Billy Almeyda.
Honorable Mention Lucas Anderson Martin County sophomore Andrew Bradshaw Vero Beach junior Ethan Conrad South Fork junior
Leo Cusumano Martin County freshman Michael Glaspey Martin County sophomore Gianluca Guagliardo SLW Centennial freshman
Jake Lupin Vero Beach freshman Peyton Palma Martin County junior Reese Peppler South Fork sophomore
Brandon Phillips Vero Beach sophomore Alex Regalado St. Edward’s junior Otto Ramirez Okeechobee junior
Koushal Rao Lincoln Park Academy sophomore Kyle Reich Jensen Beach freshman Tyler Rios Lincoln Park Academy freshman
Gianfranco Rizzolo The Pine School freshman Cameron Slack Lincoln Park Academy seventh grader Joey Wigley Jensen Beach junior