Fleming Island doesn’t typically lose to Columbia in tennis, but that didn’t strike any fear in Cassidy O’Neal or her doubles partner Adriana Velez.
As the duo took the court for their district quarterfinals match, both players believed they could pull off the upset. That belief was stronger than everyone’s doubt.
O’Neal and Velez dropped the first set 7-6 but then rallied, winning the second 6-2 before battling to a drama-filled third-set tiebreaker. Columbia’s No. 2 doubles team took that too, 10-6, to advance to the district semifinals.
“It was pretty rewarding because we had been there since 8 in the morning and we didn’t leave until 9:30 at night,” O’Neal said. “My partner was injured too but we fought through it and still won our tiebreaker. It was close but it was a really good moment and we were really excited.”
Although they lost in the semis, it was the highlight of the season for the duo that finished with a 13-3 record. And for O’Neal, it capped the area’s best season where she led the team with an 8-7 singles record as Columbia’s No. 4 player.
It’s earned her the honor of the Lake City Reporter’s Tennis Player of the Year.
“That was a really big moment for us because no one really expected us to win because our record with Fleming Island has always been really bad even though I’ve never played them,” O’Neal said. “We’ve always lost to them in the past few years. Me and my partner went into it thinking we could do the best we could and win, but I don’t think anyone around else thought we would win.
“It was really nerve racking, but it was a really good game and we were really excited to win and everyone was really happy for us because it was a big thing for just overall how we played.”
While her doubles mark with Velez was by far the best on the team, O’Neal’s singles record put her above everyone else in the area. She was the only player to finish with a mark over .500 as a consistent starter in Columbia’s lineup as a sophomore.
It was an impressive feat considering it was O’Neal’s first season playing tennis following an injury a year ago where she not only sprained her ankle, but also chipped a bone in it while playing travel volleyball. It left her in a boot for months.
“I felt pretty good about it. I enjoyed it,” said O’Neal, who also plays volleyball for CHS. “I had (one more win than losses) and I feel like my losses were good too. I worked as hard as I could trying to get as many sets in as I could.”
Columbia head coach Brandi O’Neal, who is also Cassidy’s mother, says her daughter has the competitive drive needed to be an athlete. Even when she lost her singles matches, she typically found a way to come back and beat the same girl in doubles.
“I think she’s a natural athlete, so I think going into it she has really good hand-eye coordination and I think that helps her,” Brandi said. “And she never gives up, so no matter whenever she was playing, even if she was down, she never gave up. She just kept playing as hard as she could and a lot of the time she came out the winner. She was impressive that way as far as her drive to do better.”
That comes from her years on the volleyball court. Cassidy has been a varsity member since her freshmen season as a middle hitter for Columbia, taking a step forward in her sophomore campaign as a key contributor with 161 kills that was second most on the team.
She says going from volleyball season to tennis was an easy transition, and she also believes her volleyball background helped complement Velez on their successful doubles team.
“Coming from volleyball I was pretty good just naturally at the net playing up, and she had a really good just regular hitting back,” Cassidy said. “So we definitely complemented each other in the sense that I could play up really well and she could play back and get those harder things and serve really well, which helped us a lot.”
O’Neal will have a new doubles partner next season with Velez graduating, but she’s already setting higher goals for herself and for whoever is new partner. She plans to make it further in districts in both singles and doubles, while hopefully moving up in Columbia’s lineup.
“I want to win finals in doubles, and I want to make it to at least the semifinals in singles and just having a winning season for both of them,” she said.