- April 7, 2026
The Matanzas boys tennis team is one victory away from completing a perfect season.
With a win on their home courts against St. Augustine on Thursday, April 9, the Pirates will finish the regular season with a 15-0 record. But their sights are set higher.
“Last year, we got third in districts, and we needed second to move on (to regional), and we barely missed it,” senior Owen Brady said. “But this year, we're much stronger, so we are pretty hopeful going into it.”
The Pirates host the District 4-3A tournament at the Southern Recreation Center in Palm Coast on April 14-15. They have already defeated district opponents Clay (7-0), Bartram Trail (6-1), Beachside (6-1) and Ponte Vedra (5-2) in dual matches. They handed Ponte Vedra its only loss of the season.
The difference this year is the addition of sophomore Daniel Patsula at No. 1 singles and doubles and Flagler Palm Coast transfer Adam Stochel Polubiec at No. 2 singles and doubles. Patsula is undefeated, while Stochel Polubiec has one just one loss each in singles and doubles.
“Daniel has been a game changer,” said Brady, who is Patsula’s partner at No. 1 doubles. “We know we can rely on him to get us a win, and he’s been a great doubles partner. We’ve won every match.”
Senior Stan Valenteychik had been the Pirates’ No. 1 singles player since he was a freshman. This year he is undefeated at No. 3 singles. Brady, who was the Pirates’ No. 2 singles player last year, is now at No. 4 singles.
“They've accepted their roles graciously this year, because they know that in order to win as a team, we had to put the best players at the right spots,” coach Jens Oliva said. “So they understand their roles on the team to try to do the best they can for districts and hopefully regions and beyond.”
The Pirates have won 91 of a total of 113 singles and doubles matches this season for an 80.5 winning percentage as a team.
Matanzas has had a winning team record in each of the past four years. The Pirates were 13-1 in 2023 when seniors Valenteychik, Brady, Daniel Faraj and Tyler Lemmon were freshmen. But the team is much deeper this season.
Valenteychik was a USTA tournament player until he was 12 or 13. He said he feels less pressure playing at No. 3 singles than at No. 1.
“I feel like compared to other No. 3’s I've played against, I'm on a much higher level,” he said. “I haven't really had any matches that were too hard, so far.”
The Pirates know the competition will get harder in the postseason, starting with the district tournament, which will include undefeated Nease and one-loss Ponte Vedra.
“Ponte Vedra and Nease have much better (Universal Tennis Ratings) than our team,” Oliva said. “But this is the first year that we're actually able to compete against them. This is the first time the boys defeated Ponte Vedra in the regular season since I’ve been coaching here.”
Patsula, who has the best UTR in the district, has been playing tennis since he was 3, he said. He is an experienced USTA tournament player.
“Daniel reminds me of our player that went to state (in 2021), Ilya Korolev,” Oliva said. “If he wins districts as an individual, he’ll be going to state.”
Valenteychik, Brady and the other Pirates' other four-year players have had a lot of success in their careers, but they have yet to advance to regional.
“We're really excited to hopefully go far,” Brady said. “I mean, at the end of the day this is tennis and anything can happen, but we definitely have good odds to go much further than we ever have.”
