After cruising to district and regional titles, the SSES boys’ tennis team fell one victory short of its first state championship since 2015. The Falcons dropped the FHSAA Class 1A title match on April 27 in Orlando to Boca Raton St. Andrews, the same school that defeated Saint Stephen’s in the 2019 finals. SSES reached the deciding match with decisive wins against Orlando Trinity Prep and Tampa Berkeley Prep in the first two rounds. The loss to St. Andrews also spoiled an undefeated season for the Falcons, who went 10-0-1 in the regular season, dominated district tournament play, and swept Fort Myers Canterbury and Out-of-Door Academy in regional matches. With the 2020 season wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, Saint Stephen’s has now posted back-to-back state runner-up finishes. The team loses No. 1 and No. 2 singles players Kevin Jiang (Swarthmore) and Gleb Ibragimov (Sewanee) but will return plenty of talent for the 2022 season and should be a state-caliber contender once again for Head Coach Scott Shields.