Connor has been volunteering with Andrea at the Hope Lodge and Paige has recently been going as well. The Hope Lodge can always use donated supplies, so Connor organized a supply drive with his National Honor Society at his school, and many kids brought in donations. Connor collected them all in his car after school on Friday, and today he went with Paige to deliver them to the Hope Lodge.
Paige snapped a pic of Connor with all the loot before they unloaded it.
Paige played in a USTA level 6 tennis tournament at Bartram High School this weekend. Her first match was at 8am on Saturday and she played a match against a girl that hadn't been playing very long. She won her first match 6-2, 6-2. Although Paige didn't play her best, her opponent struggled and Paige won fairly easily.
After her first match, we drove to Creekside High School to cheer for Paige's friend, Sadie, who was competing in a UTR tennis tournament.
After leaving Creekside, went by to hang out with Grandpa Rick for a little while and then the three of us headed back for Paige's second match. Her second opponent at 11am was quite a bit tougher and beat Paige 1-6, 1-6. Paige had some good moments, but it was a hot day and she was not at her best. I think Paige could have won the match in other circumstances on another day, but she was making many unforced errors.
After the second match, we went with Grandpa Rick to BJ's for lunch and then home to wash up.
Paige's final match was Sunday morning at 9am and we were happy to have Grandpa Rick and Grandma Alice join us. Paige played as well as I've ever seen her play on Sunday. Paige's opponent was a good player and hit with pace. They had some tough points, but Paige was playing consistently and she won 6-1, 6-2.
I went for a walk after Andrea and I played tennis on Friday night. Connor brought Millie Mae up so we could go for a walk on the beach. Millie was having fun running around and she managed to convince some boys to chase her. Millie Mae had fun teasing them and darting just close enough to make them dive after her. They were hilarious chasing her up and down the beach, and they went along with us for a good 15-20 minutes before they decided they'd better get back to their parents.
Connor's team made it to the 2024 FHSAA 3A Tennis State Championship and he traveled with his team to Orlando on Tuesday to play for his school. The boys first match was Wednesday against Osceola.
From the www.ustaflorida.com page: For the Boy’s side of things, all eight teams entered with a great shot at winning it all, but extra eyes were on Barron Collier, St. Thomas Aquinas, Osceola, and Lake Buena Vista. Osceola was riding a hot streak of matches and faced off against Ponte Vedra. The two split the doubles matches, putting all the focus on singles. Osceola’s Alessandro De Bernardo took the No. 1 Singles match, but unfortunately for them, that was the only match they took in singles. Grant Price, Christian Miller, and Connor Vernon were able to win their matches and give Ponte Vedra the 4-2 win.
The boys were excited to win their match on Wednesday and progress to the semi final and potentially final matches on Thursday. The girl's team also won their Wednesday match and incidentally both teams were matched up against Barron Collier from Naples, Florida, for Thursday's match.
Aunt Amanda drove up on Wednesday evening to be present for the Thursday matches and I drove up on Thursday morning as well. We were rooting for the boys, but they started off with losses on both doubles lines. Connor went on to play line 4 singles and he matched up well against his opponent. They were both frustrating each other quite a bit and Connor was playing his heart out, which we loved to see. Connor's match had some ups and downs, but he managed to win the first set 7-5. The second match was halfway through when some of Connor's teammates lost and the match was decided. When Connor stopped the second set it was 3-4. Grant was the only one on the team that finished singles with a win, so they fell 1-4 to Barron Collier.
Barron Collier won against both the boys and the girls, so it was the end of the season for all of the PVHS kids. Connor was exhausted after his match and emotional. He definitely put a lot of effort and energy in to the tennis season and while they didn't finish as State champs, it was a successful season by almost any other metric. The Barron Collier team ended up beating St. Thomas to take the crown for the 2024 season, so PV could have had a great chance at winning if they could have made it past Barron Collier.
We're proud of Connor for being a positive teammate, a strong competitor, and a good sport throughout the season.
We barely ever go for bike rides, but I decided to go the other day and decided to take Millie with me. We have a sling for her that we never use, and I stuffed her in it. Paige snapped a pic of me before I left and told me to do an awesome pose while throwing up four fingers. Definitely came out dramatic and cool. Nothing cooler than a dad with socks and Birkenstocks, riding a beach cruiser with a doodle dog.
