American Heritage-Delray ran away with the Class 2A boys’ state tennis championship without losing a game in the postseason.
The Stallions, which has flirted with the nation’s No. 1 ranking all year long, rolled past the opposition without losing a set.
They swept the 21 matches at districts on both sides (boys and girls) without losing a game — going 21-0 in both competitions.
American Heritage-Delray then blanked American Heritage-Plantation and Pine Crest by identical 4-0 scores in the regional semifinals and finals and then, despite inclement weather, rolled to wins over Gulliver Prep (5-0), Lemon Bay (6-0) and swept past Satellite 5-0 in the final for the ninth boys’ state championship in school history. It was their first in 10 years, and first since the girls won in 2017.
The girls, winners of eight team state team titles, lost to eventual state champion Gulliver Prep 4-3 in the state quarterfinals. Gulliver Prep defeated Academy of the Holy Names 4-0 and Jacksonville Bolles 4-1 for the state championship.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the boys the way they played the whole tournament,” said American Heritage-Delray Director of Tennis Brian Schleifer, who is in his 25th year at the school. “I would honestly say that they are the best team in the country in my opinion, especially when we have all our starters playing. The top of our lineup with the twins Markus Ekstrand (UM) and Alexander Ekstrand (Purdue) are both ranked in the top 15 in the country and going to D1 schools next year.
“Our No. 3, George Kosseifi, is headed to Case Western Reserve, one of the top D2 programs in the country,” Schleifer said. “He made a sacrifice and dropped to No. 3 for us this year. I was happy we were able to help him win a state championship in his senior year after carrying us the previous three.”
Kosseifi won a state singles title in 2021 and took second last year in the state final. Markus Ekstrand won the triple crown winning the team championship to go along with the overall singles and doubles titles.
“When they are focused like they were, they are hard to beat,” Schleifer said. “It was really the best team I have had in my 25 years there. Our two freshmen, playing at four (Ajinkya Karnataki) and five (Yanni Anagnostopoulos) were equally talented.”
The Stallions finished the year at 12-6, however, the school has a no-cut policy, so with 100 players, Schleifer found ways to work them in during the regular season.
“We tried to get as many kids as we could the experience of playing in matches during the season,” he said, “with the understanding with the postseason coming up we were going to go with our strongest lineup. I knew that this year, we were going to be a very difficult team to beat. We didn’t lose a match at districts, regionals, or states, so I think that speaks for itself.”
“It was great to win the state championship,” said Markus Ekstrand, who also won the overall singles championship with a dramatic 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory over Calvary Christian Academy junior James Adler Germinal. “It was such an awesome team and I felt honored to play No. 1.
“It was a great experience, especially since I got to share it with my brothers (Alexander) and seventh grader (Karl),” he said. “I really liked the team aspect and for sure, this will give me a lot of confidence.”
In the doubles, Markus Ekstrand and Kosseifi defeated the Pine Crest duo in junior Kenneth Chan and senior Krisztian Meszaros, 6-1, 6-3, for the overall doubles championship.
