History was made on Tuesday afternoon in Boca Raton in the Class 4A district tournament.
For the first time in school history, both the boys and girls tennis teams at West Boca High School notched a district championship in the same season. Both the boys and girls have won prior district championships, but they never coincided with each other in the same year.
Boys Tennis
Led by head coach Martha Whittaker, who is in her sixth year of coaching, the West Boca boys finished the regular season with a phenomenal 13-2 record. The Bulls’ only two losses came against two premier private schools: American Heritage (Delray) and Saint Andrew’s.
In the regular season, the Bulls went 6-0 against district opponents, and it obviously translated to the district tournament.
West Boca’s district consisted of Boca High, Lake Worth, Olympic Heights, Park Vista, Santaluces, and Spanish River. These teams were no match for the Bulls.
“The variety of personalities on our West Boca boys tennis team, all working towards the challenging goals of winning districts, regionals, and going on to states, is what makes this winning squad so extraordinary,” Coach Whittaker said.
Despite losses from West Boca’s Brayden Amey (line one), Miles Fix (line two), and Eduardo Cardenas (line four), Archie Balyberdin (line three) and David Stanescu (line five) won the championship in their respective lines for singles.
In doubles, West Boca got the job done yet again thanks to Balyberdin and Fix, who won the championship for line two doubles.
“It felt amazing, especially in my senior year,” Balyberdin said. “It couldn’t have been a better way to finish off high school. We have to go all the way though.”
The Bulls tallied 13 points in districts, which was more than any other team, leading to the district championship.
The last time the boys made it to regionals was in 2022 after being named district runner-up. In regionals, the Bulls beat Wellington and then Spanish River (who won the district) to advance to states. Sadly, West Boca lost in the first round to Gulf Coast. The boys have yet to win a state championship.
“Archie led his team as a sophomore to the regional championship, and to states, and intensely wanted the opportunity to do it again as a senior,” Coach Whittaker added. “So far, he and his teammates are reaching their goals and going above and beyond to support one another, and our outstanding girls tennis team, as well.”
Coach Whittaker is not surprised that her team is reaching their goals: “Beginning early in the season, these young men became extremely focused on, not only improving themselves as tennis players, but bringing out the best in one another as individuals. Fortunately, this came very naturally for most of them, especially our senior captain, Archie Balyberdin, and his supporting cast of seniors, Miles Fix and Isaac Edelman.”
Girls Tennis
Led by first-year head coach Cynthia Ortiz, who won a state championship (the girls’ only one) with West Boca as a player in 2016, the West Boca girls finished the regular season with a 14-1 record. Their only loss came against Saint Andrew’s in the first match of the season.
Just like the boys, the girls went 6-0 against districts opponents in the regular season, and it translated to the district tournament.
Even though West Boca’s Alejandra Cardenas (line one singles and line one doubles) lost her respective matches, the rest of the lineup stayed calm, cool, and collective to take home the district championship.
The girls showed their depth as Mia Niedzwiedzki (line two), Brooklyn Aldridge (line three), Lauren Lockwood (line four), and Chiara Guido (line five) all won the championship in their respective lines for singles.
To finish it off, Aldridge and Lockwood sealed the district championship with a win in line two doubles over Spanish River, who finished as the district runner-ups.
“Honestly, it feels amazing to win a district championship,” Aldridge said. “I came from a city where we had to win by ourselves and not as a team. It’s a good feeling to have when your whole team is supporting you and has your back throughout the tournament.”
Both the boys and girls will play in regionals on Tuesday at West Boca High School. The boys will face Dwyer, who they beat 5-2 back in March. Meanwhile, the girls will play Wellington, who they beat 4-3 at the beginning of April.
The road to states has been underway for a while, but it’s finally looking more like reality and less of a dream for the tennis stars at West Boca.
“Coach Ortiz, Coach Greenwald and I are excited to host both regional tournaments and to continue to see our players improve on so many levels,” Coach Whittaker said when talking about the upcoming regional match. “We love watching their team spirit and how they truly care about one another. We’ll soon see if this extraordinary camaraderie, determination, and hard work ethic they share will take both teams to the state tournament and beyond.”
The last West Boca sports team to win states was baseball in 2016. Can one of West Boca’s tennis teams end the drought?
