Tigers’ tennis player makes history

Posted on 21 April 2011 by LeslieM

Cameron Ogbourne returns a shot during the District 11-4A tennis tournament final against Douglas’ Scott Korefsky. Photo by Gary Curreri

By Gary Curreri

If Cameron Ogbourne were to rank his first year playing high school tennis on a scale from 1 to 10, it would be an 8.5.

“I think I won more matches in the season than I lost,” said the Blanche Ely High School freshman. “My game is not where it needs to be. I need to improve my backhand.”

A favorable draw on the bracket, plus a victory over an opponent to avenge a regular-season loss, put Ogbourne in a rare notable spot for his high school tennis team.

For the first time in 15 seasons, a Tigers tennis player earned one of the final spots in the post-season district tournament. Ogbourne, who sports a 3.8 GPA in the BEHS magnet program, made a splash during the 11-team, District 11-4A tournament hosted by Taravella at Cypress Park Tennis Center in Coral Springs.

Representing the Tigers in the No. 3 singles bracket, Ogbourne used an unspectacular but patient baseline-to-baseline style of play to eliminate Coral Glades’ Jesse Sehr, 6-4, 6-2, in the first round.

The victory earned him a match in the semifinals against Coral Springs’ Jason Petusevsky, who a month earlier edged Ogbourne, 9-7, in a regular-season match at Coral Springs.

The Tiger freshman took advantage of his error-prone opponent, who committed 28 unforced errors (including 11 double faults) in the first set as Ogbourne prevailed, 6-3. In the second set, Ogbourne was even more flawless. After committing 18 errors in the first set, he cut it down to just six to prevail with a final score of 6-3, 6-2.

“As always, Cameron does a good job of keeping his cool no matter what the situation of the match is,” said Tigers fifth-year coach Concepçion Ledezma. “He’s been steadily improving as the season went along, and that’s a tribute to him, as well as the other guys, considering we hadn’t been able to practice at our own courts (due to construction work) all season long.

“I definitely see him challenging our No. 1 (junior Hashan Bhim) and No. 2 (junior David Bryan) next year,” Ledezma added. “As the season went along, the gap between them was narrowing.”

His district finals match against Douglas’ Scott Korefsky was cut short in the second set when Ogbourne twisted his ankle running down a deep, cross-court backhand winner. Korefsky went on to earn the points for repeating district champ Douglas with the victory (6-3, 4-2, ret.).

“It was pretty surprising for me to get as far as I did considering there wasn’t consistent practice time,” Ogbourne said. “I’ve been playing tennis since I was 5. I like tennis because it is a non-contact sport, unlike football or basketball. You can stay away from injuries and it is good exercise and a good way to have fun.”

Ogbourne doesn’t believe he will pursue a pro career in tennis; however, he would like to parlay his talents into a college scholarship.

“I believe that I will start next year at No. 3 and, hopefully I will move up to at least No. 2,” Ogbourne said. “I will have to work really hard and improve my backhand.”

Ogbourne and the rest of the Tigers found practice a challenge this year, as they scrambled for training locations because of the athletic facilities construction.

“A group of two to three (players) would go to a nearby court and others would go to another,” Ledezma noted. “I think Cameron’s biggest improvement was stamina, improving his advantage in the long rallies.”

It is a tough call, however. Ogbourne said it was more impressive to do well in the classroom than make history on the courts.

“Grades are important,” Ogbourne said with a laugh. “It was a nice accomplishment though. That’s a tough question.”

 

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