Bulldogs Bounce Dragons

Lake Placid junior Michael Sweat won his No. 5 singles match against DeSoto's Krysthian Ramos to improve to 4-0 on the season, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs defeated the Green Dragons 5-2 in a Class 2A-District 9 tennis match on Monday afternoon.

"It was very cold and windy, but Michael did a great job of controlling his game," said veteran Lake Placid coach Dennis Berard. "He has worked hard on every aspect of his game and his forehand and backhand have really improved."

Due to the windy, cold conditions, the teams agreed to play pro sets to expedite the match.

Sweat teamed with freshman Jacob Underwood to win the No. 2 doubles match, which was the first doubles win of the season for the Green Dragon squad.

"Michael was solid and Jacob is only a freshman, but he has come on strong to play a vital role for us early in the season," Berard said. "We've got the most depth since I've been here and I've been putting guys at different positions in our first few matches to see where they help the team the most."

DeSoto's Alex Edelmann won No. 1 singles, Bulldog Mitesh Patel rolled to a win at No. 2 singles and senior Jake Plymale eased to a win at No. 3 singles.

DeSoto's Mitul Patel won No. 4 singles and the Bulldogs cruised to a win at No. 1 doubles.

The win improved DeSoto to 4-0 on the season, while the loss dropped the Green Dragons to 0-4.

"DeSoto has five seniors and they have a lot of experience," said Berard. "They and Sebring are two of the top teams in the district and we're working hard to improve by the time the district tournament rolls around in April

"We have the Heartland Conference Tournament coming up this Friday and Saturday and that should give us a good idea of how we stack up with some of the teams in our district."

The Green Dragons, who are led by seniors Martin Oseguera and Andrew Olivares, have been competitive in their first four matches.

An opening-season loss to LaBelle, a pair of losses to a tough DeSoto squad and a loss at Okeechobee has the Green Dragons in an early hole.

"We've played some pretty good competition early in the season," said Berard. "But we've got eight guys on the team and I've used these early-season matches to give everyone a chance to show me what they can do.

"We have a nice blend of experienced players and some new guys that have a lot of ability and we just need more experience of competing under pressure in matches."

The two-day Heartland Conference Tournament begins at 1 p.m. Friday with the boys playing at the South Florida Community College tennis courts, while the girls will play at the Sun 'N Lake Country Club tennis courts.

The tournament concludes on Saturday.

"We're looking forward to the Heartland Conference Tournament," said Berard. "I'm going to watch how we play real closely and then I'll figure out who my top five guys are and what positions they will play.

"The guys have had a good attitude and are working hard on their games and our best tennis is ahead of us."

Heartland Conference Tennis Tournament

Avon Park, Sebring, Lake Placid and Hardee

FRIDAY 1 p.m. (Boys at SFCC, Girls at Sun 'N Lake)

SATURDAY 9 a.m. (Boys at SFCC, Girls at Sun 'N Lake)

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