By Steve Lee

Something had to give in last week’s battle of unbeatens when Land O’ Lakes and Wiregrass Ranch squared off on the tennis court. The host Gators, considered among the top three teams in Pasco County this season, were no match for the Bulls.

Wiregrass Ranch improved to 8-0 with a 7-0 win while Land O’ Lakes dropped to 5-1 following a strong start.

“Against Wiregrass Ranch, you’ve got to bring your A squad,” said Gators coach Connor Jordan, whose team defeated third-ranked Mitchell earlier this season.

While Land O’ Lakes is coming off a district championship and region final appearance, Wiregrass Ranch has won 10 straight district and eight region titles. The Bulls also have won two state championships.

“The team is looking pretty good, but we have a long way to go,” Bulls coach Dave Wilson said. “With eight strong players (including five freshmen) we are still trying to figure out who will be our top five for districts. It’s a nice problem to have and it is definitely getting the boys to push themselves.”

Against the Gators, the Bulls swept in singles play with only the No. 2 contest being relatively close. Vlad Shumakov defeated Dhineith Ranatunga in three sets — 6-0, 3-6, 10-4. At No. 3 singles, Adam Mansour was pushed by Andres Quast in a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Rounding out singles play, No. 1 Ninad Raut, No. 4 Josh Abrams and No. 5 Belal Mansour each won in convincing fashion. In the doubles matches, Raut and Shumakov teamed up to handily defeat Takashi Xu and Ranutunga 8-0 at No. 1 before the No. 2 doubles duo of Abrams and Oliver Andle beat Quast and Romil Estrella 8-5.