Buchholz Boys, Girls Clinch Regional Berths

By Cliff Olsen, Gainesville Sun Correspondent, April 5th, 2011

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110405/ARTICLES/110409739

The Buchholz boys and girls tennis teams each finished as District 1-4A runner-ups and each clinched a regional playoff berth on Tuesday.

Erik Vincek captured his second straight district title by winning at No. 1 singles, while the Bobcats’ No. 1 girls doubles team of Courtney Cribb and Zhoe Solaun also titled to highlight day-two action for Buchholz at the Jonesville Tennis Center. Vincek, along with Cribb and Solaun, earned individual berths to the FHSAA Class 4A state tournament.

As a team, the Buchholz boys squad secured its eighth trip to the regional playoffs in the last 11 seasons. The girls team will be moving onto the regional playoffs for the fifth straight year. Both groups will travel to Port Orange Spruce Creek for Tuesday’s opening-round regional match.

“The boys did great, I was pleased with the way they held themselves at the tournament,” said Buchholz coach Johnny Johnston. “They all played well. They lost to a better team and you can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Orange Park Fleming Island won the boys title with 20 points, having won five of the six singles and both doubles positions with the Bobcats next with 12 points.

On the girls’ side, Fleming Island edged Buchholz 13-12 for the district title, topping the eight-team field.

Cribb, a freshman, took home the district title at No. 2 singles for the Bobcats’ lone win among the five singles positions.

The start of the second day’s action on the clay courts was delayed by about four hours due to early morning thunderstorms, which made for a long day of tennis.

“I was very happy. I was ecstatic for both of them,” said Johnston, about his No. 1 girls doubles team. “It was huge.”