Double play
Kasler wins state singles title, teams with Pfeifler for doubles crown; finishes season 42-0; girls team third; boys fourth
BY JASON THOMPSON Gulf Breeze News jason@gulfbreezenews.com

A perfect season Jackie Kasler serves during the second round of regionals April 18 against Catholic. Kasler won the #1 singles and the #1 doubles title with Jen Pfeifler at last week's 2A state meet in Casselberry. Jason Thompson/Gulf Breeze News

When the next school year starts, Jackie Kasler may be known as 'that new girl who looks awfully familiar.'

She'll also be known as something else - a state champion. Make that a two-time state champion.

Kasler, a home-schooled sophomore who'll be a full-time GBHS student this fall, won the 2A singles tennis title April 22 at Red Bug State Park in Casselberry. Later that day, Kasler and Jen Pfeifler teamed up to win the #1 doubles title.

The win in singles improved Kasler to 21- 0 on the year in singles. She has the identical record in doubles. She was the top seed in the eight-player field in both fields.

"I just try to go out and play my game - be aggressive every match and not worry about going undefeated or worry about losing," Kasler said.

In large part from Kasler and Pfeifler, the GBHS girls team finished in third out of eight teams at state. American Heritage won the team title with 15 points, followed by Olympic Heights with nine and GBHS with eight. The boys, who won only three matches, finished fourth. Gulliver Prep won the boys title with 19 points, followed by Jacksonville Bolles (16) and Naples (6).

Photo courtesy of Charlie Pfeifler Got gold? Jen Pfeifler (left) and Jackie Kasler pose with their gold medals after winning the 2A state doubles title April 23. The girls team finished third out of eight teams at state, while the boys finished fourth.

"It was just wonderful," said tennis coach Sally Nowling. "The kids really rose to the occasion. They played well…especially Jackie and Jen."

Kasler finished her first season at GBHS by beating Gulliver Prep's Ashley Moore 6-0, 6-0 for the overall singles title on April 23.

Moore won the individual singles championship, which was for players of teams who didn't make it to state, but who won their district title in number one singles and number one doubles.

Jason Thompson/Gulf Breeze News Two of three Reid Tidwell hits a backhand during regional play April 15. Tidwell was the only GBHS male to win a singles match and a doubles match at last week's state meet. GBHS finished with three points to finish fourth out of eight teams

Kasler beat Lake Highland Prep's Elissa DeCampll 6-1, 6- 2 in the quarterfinals and Bolles' Frances Beacom 6-0, 6- 0 in the semifinals.

Kasler played American Heritage's Julie Sabacinski, the second seed, in the #1 singles final, winning that match 6-4, 7-6 (3).

"She's one of my best friends in the USTA (United States Tennis Association)," Kasler said of Sabacinski, whom she's beaten the last three times they played. "It's really tough playing your friends...it was a good match."

Pfeifler, playing number two singles, beat Citrus' Lindsey Sparford 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals before losing a heartbreaker to American Heritage's Ekaterina Kiseleva in the semifinals 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2).

"I watched Jen's match for about 45 minutes, played my match, came back off and watched the rest of her match for about an hour," Kasler said. "That's how long her match was."

Pfeifler, who battled leg cramps in the third set, led 5-2 and 30-0 in the third set before Kiseleva battled back.

"That's when she found out I couldn't move," Pfeifler said. "It's (cramps) happened before, but nothing to the extreme of this. Nothing close to it."

Pfeifler said the cramps began on the first point of the third set. She was able to take a 90-second medical timeout to allow a trainer to tend to her. She spent nearly every bit of the 20 seconds in between points the rest of the match to stretch her legs.

"I was at the point of dehydration, where I wasn't sweating, when it was 90 degrees," Pfeifler said. "That was a little concerning."

"They played 60-ball rallies for just one point," Nowling said. "It was hotter there and we hadn't played in that heat before. It was a little bit of a factor. It was such a mental grind and it took a physical toll, too."

About an hour after the loss - Pfeifler's first of the season - she and Kasler played their first round doubles match, beating Bolles' Beacom and Anjelica Inclan 6-1, 6-1.

"I poached a lot, so (Pfeifler) didn't have to move," Kasler said. "Lucky for us it wasn't a real tough match."

"She definitely did most of the running," Pfeifler said.

The following day, the duo beat St. Pete Catholic's Alyssa Bellini and Jerica Coley 6-2, 6- 1 before beating American Heritage's Kiseleva and Sabacinski 7-5, 6-1.

"I don't think their heart was in it in the second set like it was in the first," Kasler said.

"We just kept up the intensity and didn't let them back in it," Pfeifler said.

The pair then beat Gulliver Prep's Moore and Jessica Linero for the overall doubles crown the following day 6-4, 6-2.

Kasler's next big challenge will be in August, when she becomes a full-time high school student for the first time.

"For the last three years, my school works around my tennis - now it's going to be the other way around," Kasler said. "It's going to be different sitting in a classroom for seven hours, instead of being outside for seven hours. It'll be interesting."

Cookie Echsner was the only other female winner for Gulf Breeze. Echsner, playing in #5 five singles, beat Lake Highland Prep's Megan Spengler 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals before losing to American Heritage's Danna Gandelman 6-0, 6-1. Gandelman was the top seed in the bracket, who went on to win the #5 singles crown.

Ali Gilmartin, playing #3 singles, lost to Citrus' Ashton Connor 6-0, 6-1, while Zoe Miller, playing #4 singles, lost to Olympic Heights' Nicole Sbircea 6-0, 6-0.

Sbircea was the second seed in that bracket.

Echsner and Gilmartin, playing #2 doubles, lost to American Heritage's Gandelman and Valentina DisStefano 6-0, 6-0, the top seed in that bracket.

Reid Tidwell was a part of two of the boys' three wins last week. Playing #2 singles, Tidwell beat Lecanto's Joseph Temposi 6-2, 6-4 before losing to Bolles' Creighton Blanchard 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.

Tidwell, playing #1 doubles with A.J. Anastopoulo, beat Lecanto's Noah Heinze and Thomas Saltsman 6-4, 6-2 before losing to Bolles' Blanchard and Christopher Reiman 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.

Clay Pfeifler, playing #4 singles, beat St. Pete Catholic's Zachary Hotz 6-4, 6-4 before losing to Gulliver Prep's Alexander Buzzi 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals.

Anastopoulo, playing #1 singles, lost to Naples' Joshua Dancu 6-1, 7-5, while Gus Anastopoulo, playing #3 singles, lost to Naples' Maximillian Shumake 6-2, 6-1.

LaBruce Miller, playing #5 singles, lost to Lake Wales' James Hignight 6-1, 6-4, while Miller and Pfeifler, playing #2 doubles, lost to Bolles' Matthew Dias and Beau Treyz 6-1, 6-0.

The Bolles pair, the second seed in that bracket, went on to win the title.