Girls
Player of the year
Danielle Collins, So., Northeast
Why we picked her: Collins is the most dominating girls player to hit the county scene in quite some time. Playing her first year of high school tennis, she was rarely tested during the regular season and won the district singles title in a 6-1, 6-1 breeze. At the Class 3A state tournament, Collins dropped three games to win the individual singles title, then rallied to defeat Gibbs' Akilah James in three sets for the overall singles championship.
Most impressive accomplishment: Collins' punishing groundstrokes and pinpoint serve were slightly off kilter in the 3A final against James, and the sophomore phenom found herself trailing 1-0 in the second set after dropping the first 6-4. That deficit would have rattled most players, but Collins collected herself, then began connecting, winning nine straight games to take complete control of the match.
Did you know? In April, Collins earned the No. 1 ranking in the nation in the USTA girls 18 division. Having already played well at a handful of professional tournaments, Collins said she will decide entering her senior year whether she wants to play tennis in college or turn pro.
First team
| Morgan Basil, Sr., Shorecrest | Hard-hitting senior will play for Boise State in the fall |
| Emily Dvorak, Jr., St. Petersburg | Led Green Devils to region final and qualified for state in doubles |
| Akilah James, Sr., Gibbs | Brooklyn transfer helped the Gladiators reach state for the first time in program history |
| Julia Jones, So., St. Petersburg Catholic | Powerful baseliner and district champ was the engine behind the Barons' second-place finish at state (Class A) |
| Julia Sikorski, Fr., Seminole | Won a district (4A-6) title and reached the individual singles final at state in her first season |
Second team
Agatha Ambrozy, So., St. Petersburg
Alyssa Bellini, Sr., St. Petersburg Catholic
Natalie Boruk, So., Countryside
Yasmin Franco, Fr., Indian Rocks Christian
Laura Ospina, Jr., East Lake
Honorable mention
Countryside: Alex Kitchen
East Lake: Raquel Moya
Gibbs: Lindsay Hodgdon
Northside Christian: Carolina Barnett
Palm Harbor University: Samantha Azadian, Julia Teytelbaum
St. Petersburg: Sunshine Beba
St. Petersburg Catholic: Jerica Coley
Seminole: Calyn Madsen
Coach of the year
| Brett Hayman, St. Petersburg Catholic | Had to juggle his lineup at state because of an injury but calmly led the Barons to a second-place finish in Class A. |
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