Court Ruling Puts Kink In New Tampa Plans

Tampa City Council member Luis Viera recently hosted a Q-n-A session with transportation and engineering officials to discuss needed road improvements in Tampa Palms and other areas of New Tampa.

A gathering of roughly 30 mostly Tampa Palms residents showed up at Compton Park on Feb. 24 for an outdoor meeting with City of Tampa officials to discuss speeding along Tampa Palms Blvd., but the conversation turned to plans to repave the road and add some traffic-calming measures — perhaps two roundabouts or some traffic lights — with money collected from a 1-cent tax amendment passed in 2018.

Most of those in attendance seemed pleased with the plans for safety improvements for Tampa Palms Blvd.

But, before their coffee even had time to cool off the following morning, those plans had come to a screeching halt because the money to pay for them is now in limbo.

On Feb. 25, the Florida Supreme Court voted 4-1 that the 1-cent transportation tax amendment, which passed with 57% of voter support, was unconstitutional because it restricted where and how the money could be spent. District 4 Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White, who filed the lawsuit, argued that All For Transportation (AFT), the group that led the fight to pass the amendment, dictated how local governments could spend the money, usurping the authority of the county commission.

The transportation tax already has raised $500 million intended to fix many of Hillsborough’s transportation woes, as well as improve the City of Tampa’s bus service.

More than $50 million of that amount was earmarked for City of Tampa projects, including the Tampa Palms Blvd. improvements, as well as enhancements like the much-needed repaving of New Tampa Blvd. in West Meadows.

“The ruling is a big hit to our community,” said District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera. “When it comes to the most pressing issue of traffic and congestion, we are running so far behind. This is just devastating.”

Viera says he will support putting a replacement tax on the ballot in 2022. He has also scheduled a town hall with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor for April 21 from 6-7 p.m. at the New Tampa Recreation Center, for those who want to ask what’s next for the needed roaded improvements in New Tampa.

Cal Hardie, a transportation engineer for the City of Tampa, told the Compton Park gathering that the design of the changes for Tampa Palms Blvd., which cost $600,000, was already paid for and under way. But, the actual construction, which would cost $3-$4 million and include restoration of the road’s surface from the Wellington subdivision to Bruce B. Downs Blvd., bike lanes, safer crosswalks and traffic-calming mechanisms, was reliant on the transportation tax monies.

Similar work would be completed on New Tampa Blvd. as well, perhaps at the same time, Hardie added.

Without that money, Hardie said the City of Tampa would have to look into finding federal funds, which can take longer, or multi-modal transportation impact fees, but suggested “the coffers are pretty dry.”

Hardie said the traffic calming on Tampa Palms Blvd. could come in the form of two roundabouts at the north intersection of Tampa Palms Blvd. and Compton Dr., with another roundabout another closer to Tampa Palms Elementary. 

The cost of a roundabout is roughly $450,000-$500,000, Hardie said, which is not that much more than the price tag for a traffic signal, which is around $350,000.

“A roundabout reduces accidents 60 percent more than a traffic light,” Hardie said. “It also reduced accidents 80 percent more than a stop sign.”

But, that is up to the designers and the public, who will get their say in public meetings once the plans are completed.

And by then, maybe the money to complete the construction will materialize.

Viera assured everyone at the meeting that if the Supreme Court knocked down the tax, he would pursue other funding. 

Raj Finds A Kidney Donor!

After six months on a strict diet, Raj Guntuku enjoys a potato chip after receiving a new kidney from Joel Morales. 

It was an ordinary December day and Joel Morales was getting ready to put the latest issue of the Neighborhood News into the recycling bin.

But first, he wanted to see what was going on in New Tampa, and maybe pick up a suggestion for a place to grab some dinner. Since moving to K-Bar Ranch from Ohio in late 2019, Joel and wife Shelby had practically been quarantined the whole time due to Covid. Maybe this night would be the one they would finally venture out.

So, he started thumbing through the pages.

Then, he stopped. A picture of a 13-year-old boy named Raj Guntuku, and his 70-pound Golden Doodle Benji, caught his attention. “I’ll probably never forget it,” Joel says. “It was such a cute picture.”

Joel read the story. Raj needed a kidney. His parents were desperate. 

Then, the strangest darned thing happened. Almost immediately, Joel decided he was going to give Raj his kidney. 

On March 4, just a few weeks after meeting for the first time and passing all of the required tests, Joel was wheeled into an operating room, and four hours later, his kidney had been transplanted into Raj.

“A miracle,” says Raj’s mother Radha. 

Just a few days later, both Raj, who friends and family call “Bunny,” and Joel returned home from the hospital, and they were online playing Fortnite together on the Xbox. 

“Joel is so happy to see him happy,” Radha says. “I don’t know if we will ever meet anyone like that in this world again, but we are so fortunate to have him.”

Raj has a new lease on life, and Joel is glad he could help.

So, the question remains, why did he?

“It seems strange to say, but when I read the article, it just seemed like the obvious thing to do,” says Joel. “I had done a tiny bit of research after I read the article, just to see the long-term impacts of donating a kidney, and it was surprising to me. It seems like there’s really nothing I have to watch out for or need to be careful of. I can’t take any more ibuprofen, and I have to eat enough protein, but to me it’s just life as normal. It just seemed obvious that there’s this poor 13-yr-old kid with his life ahead of him, and I should do what I can to help. Thank God I ended up being a match.”

Joel Morales

A wholesaler for Nationwide Insurance, Joel says he doesn’t regret his decision, even if some of his friends and co-workers questioned his sanity. 

“My boss said, ‘Hold on, let me see if I understand this — you have never met this boy, you never met this family, you have no relationship with them whatsoever, and you just decided to give your kidney to him?,’”  Joel says. “That was the moment I probably understood it was a little bit crazy.”

But, the only person he really had to convince was Shelby, and her primary concern was what if their 2-year-old son Leo, or another family member, needed a kidney one day?

“My thought process was, if you look at the stats, the chances of one of our children or someone in our family needing a kidney are extremely low,” Joel says. “But, the chances of Raj needing a kidney is 100 percent. He needs one. He might not get one.”

It was only a 10-minute conversation. Joel said he probably had that look in his eyes, where Shelby knew he wasn’t going to be talked out of it. Besides, he reasoned, “Hopefully now, we’ve got some good karma coming our way.”

Radha says Joel certainly deserves it. Before he read the article about Raj in the Neighborhood News, she had been relying on a growing list of 15 or so potential donors who had stepped forward after a television report on Thanksgiving Day.

More names were added as time went on. The Neighborhood News article about Raj’s plight hit mailboxes on December 8.

“You put in a great article which was super detailed,” Radha says. “When I read it, I even started to get emotional, even though it is our own story. So many people told us they read it.”

However, day by day, many potential donors had dropped out. Some were talked out of it, others were worried about being able to afford missing work, and some just changed their minds. 

Raj and Joel meet for the first time. 
(Photo courtesy of the Guntuku family)

Soon, a carefully curated spread sheet which, Radha says, had as many as 30 names on it at one point, had red lines through most of those potential donors, and only four remained.

Then, Joel called. He asked Nehru, Raj’s dad, to explain the process. Joel says he told Nehru it sounded as if he had explained all this before, and Nehru said he had. But, few had followed through, and it was becoming frustrating.

Joel, however, was in it to the finish. He filled out the paperwork, got tested and, on Feb. 24, was approved to be Raj’s donor. The surgery was scheduled.

The families finally met at Raj’s Tampa Palms home a few days later. 

Everyone was too nervous to eat, and they just ended up nibbling at the Olive Garden and Liang’s Bistro takeout Radha had picked up. Raj, however, was bursting with joy. 

It was a great night, both families say. Raj and his sister Bhavika, a senior at King High, thought Joel was “cool,” Shelby spent the night cracking jokes and Joel left knowing that he had a made a great decision. 

On the way home, he turned to Shelby and said he hoped the Guntuku family liked him.

“You’re giving Raj a kidney,” Shelby said. “I think they like you fine.”

And they both laughed.

On March 4, Raj and Joel went in for the surgery. Joel was home after two days, while Raj came home on March 9. The families have spoken via FaceTime every day since.

Thanks to Joel, Raj has a functioning kidney and was able to enjoy a happy homecoming after the successful kidney transplant surgery earlier this month.  

Raj had been sick for much of 2020. In early September, he vomited after waking up one morning, and it happened again a few weeks later. He went and had bloodwork done, and the results concerned his doctor. In October, Raj was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is characterized by the gradual loss of kidney function. He was Stage 5 at the time, and his kidneys were operating at less than 10 percent of their normal function.

Raj has been on a strict diet ever since, and will need to watch what he eats now that he has a new kidney. He told Joel the first thing he was going to do after receiving his kidney was eat a slice of cheese pizza. 

However, his diet will have to be limited. He will need to eat healthier, but Radha says Raj is ready for that challenge. At a Super Bowl party a month before his surgery, everyone was celebrating the Tampa Bay Bucs’ victory with cupcakes. 

“I would like to eat,” Raj said, “but sadly, I cannot. No thank you.”

Raj’s immunity will be lower than it used to be, and special care will need to be taken for the next 90 days. He is on seven medications, gets his blood tested twice a week, and has to stay out of the sun. 

He is eager to shoot some hoops, but contact sports like soccer and football are off limits. His dream to be a grand master at karate, which he has been taking since he was 4, may be in peril, but Radha says they will have to decide on that later.

It is likely that Raj will have to go through this process again, in 20 or 30 years, so he needs to maximize the health of this kidney. “He knows he needs to be careful,” Radha says.

As for Joel, he was off the pain medication in a week and doctors say he’ll be fully recovered in 4-6 weeks.

“They really just said stay away from contact sports, so my future NFL career is no longer an option at the ripe age of 28,” Joel says.

He’s back at work, and every once in a while he thinks about the selfless decision he made. He doesn’t regret it for a second.

“I don’t think I knew, even today, just how big a deal this was, which probably helped with the nerves,” Joel says. “I  genuinely just felt like this was the obvious thing to do. I may not have thought about it as much as I probably should have, but even if I had, I still think the outcome would have been the same. It was definitely well worth it.

“I’d say I’d do it again, but I can’t. You can only do this once.”

New Tampa’s Your CBD Store Adapting With New Products

Your CBD Store New Tampa owners Deborah and David Curler promise their store is different from other CBD sellers. (Photos: John C. Cotey)

A lot has changed in the time since Deborah and David Curler opened their Your CBD Store in the Pebble Creek Collection just 15 months ago, back on November 29, 2019.

But, the biggest change was that Covid-19 happened. As fledgling business owners coming off a couple of good months, the Curlers were hit hard by the pandemic, forced to reduce their hours and having to fight for their survival. 

Keeping them going were their customers, who needed their help during the pandemic more than ever. While there were fewer of them, regular customers were still coming in or ordering for curbside pickup for Your CBD Store’s stress-, anxiety- and pain-reducing CBD products, which many consider miracle solutions.

A case in point is Mary Maloy, who  has rheumatoid arthritis, and was wary of taking prescription drugs, which her daughter, who works in the medical profession, said were very strong.

So, after some research, she drove from her Temple Terrace home to the Your CBD Store in New Tampa, and says she has been mostly pain-free ever since.

“David explained everything to me, he was so friendly and nice and what I really liked is they didn’t try to force anything on me,” said Mary, who now takes a non-THC oil twice a day. She says David helped her adjust her dosage until it was just right, at 33 milligrams.

As the pandemic raged, David delivered to Mary’s home so she wouldn’t have to venture out. “They really are like family,” Mary says — and she wasn’t the only one in need during the height of the pandemic.  

Deborah says a nurse from nearby AdventHealth walked through the doors one day. “I’ll never forget it,” Deborah says. “She came in and was in tears. She said to me, ‘What do you have for stress and anxiety? I can’t take this anymore.”

As Deborah assisted her, the nurse told her she had “zipped up three people today.” Deborah was stunned. She recommended a full spectrum water soluble — which takes effect in 7-10 minutes — and the nurse went on her way, only to return again a few weeks later.

“To know that we helped is very gratifying,” says Deborah, who adds that many of the regulars at her store are now  doctors and nurses at AdventHealth. Many of the nurses continue to share heart-wrenching stories, she says. 

“God bless them for what they are doing,” Deborah says.

Customer Service & Education

Debroah says that outstanding customer service is why Your CBD Store has a 4.9 (out of 5)-star rating on Google, where the Curlers and their employees are applauded for their knowledge, passion and sterling customer service.

Helping people is why Deborah says she opened her own Your CBD Store. She and David have studied and become experts on CBD products which, in many cases, provide relief for those suffering from all kinds of maladies — from insomnia to cancer to chronic pain and anxiety. 

The Curlers take great pleasure in educating new customers, and a flat-screen television and two chairs are positioned at the front of their store for those who want to learn more, although more and more people have become familiar with the products since CBD has become more normalized. You can even get a free sample if you want to try CBD.

“I would say 75 percent of the people who walk in already know about CBD,” David says. “But, 25 percent don’t, and they are curious. They have questions.”

The biggest usually centers around the relationship of CBD to marijuana and “getting high.” 

CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of more than 100 cannabinoids that grow on cannabis, of which both hemp and marijuana are varieties. Like “weed,” CBD originates from hemp, which contains less than 0.3. of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which causes the “high,” while marijuana has much higher levels of THC. 

So no, CBD products will not get you high. But, they will, in most cases, provide relief from pain, anxiety and stress. 

Your CBD Store, a chain with more than 500 stores nationwide, carries a wide variety of products containing CBD, which are made by SunMed. SunMed has its own farms in Denver, CO, where the company grows the hemp that is then processed in Florida.

Each product comes with a QR code on the bottle, which can be scanned to produce that product’s lab report. David says that’s a big deal, and few other CBD producers are willing to show their work to verify the purity of their products.

Cannabinoids, whether CBD, CBG (cannabigerol) and CBN (cannabinol), which are relatively new to the CBD product world, come in both full and broad spectrum. Full-spectrum CBD products contain 0.3% of THC, which is the legal limit, while broad-spectrum products contain zero THC.

Deborah says that full spectrum is considered stronger, and is the bigger seller. Full- and broad-spectrum products both come in a variety of forms to suit your preference, like pills, water solubles, tinctures, gummies and vapes, and range in dosages from 5 milligrams to 2,000 mg. 

Your CBD Store New Tampa also offers SunMed’s award-winning topical creams, which are effective in relieving joint pain. There also are CBD dog treats (above), which can keep your pet more relaxed and less anxious during stress-inducing events like fireworks and thunderstorms.

Newer cannabinoids now being sold at Your CBD Store include CBG, which provides a pick-me-up effect, and CBN, which is THC-free and is designed to promote nighttime relaxation and slumber. Both products are hot sellers at the New Tampa store, Deborah says.

And now, you can even purchase hemp in its raw form, as a flower, and use it in a number of ways.

“You can brew it in tea, sprinkle it on your salad and even smoke it,” David says. “But, you’re not going to get high off it.”

Your CBD Store New Tampa also sells CBD/hemp cookbooks, for the adventurous sort.

The New CBD Delta

However, creating the most buzz, pardon the pun, at Your CBD Store New Tampa is Delta-8, which is a close cousin to Delta-9, or THC.

The difference between the two is just one particular chemical bond appearing on the eighth carbon molecule instead of the ninth. The different chemical configuration makes Delta-8 less potent, and has been reported to provide users with a smoother “high” without the anxiety and paranoia associated with Delta-9/THC.

Dubbed “Weed Light” by some, it has nearly the same positive effects of Delta-9, but fewer of the negative effects.

Delta-8 is available at Your CBD Store New Tampa in tincture, gummy and spray form.

“Since Christmas time, the phone has been blowing up for Delta-8,” she says. “I can’t believe how big a seller it is. It is flying off the shelves.”

The Curlers hope the pandemic is on its way out the door, and business returns to its previous levels. Prices have been reduced by 20-30 percent per bottle by SunMed, as it combats consumer trepidation during these difficult times, but new products continue to flow into the store in hopes of a rebound. You also can receive $10 off your first purchase by joining the stores Loyalty Club, which can lead to other discounts and freebies.

“We’re surviving at this point,” Deborah says. “We’re praying for the best, so we can keep doing what we love, which is helping people. We feel close to our customers. They come to rely on you. And we want to be here.”

Your CBD Store New Tampa is located at 19651 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Suite B-1. It is open every day except Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information, call (813) 994-0599 or visit CBDRX4U.com/find-us/florida/new-tampa.

Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors Is A Tribute To A Great Dad

Brothers Brandon (left) & Taylor Gardner have re-branded Gardner Gutters (run for 20 years by their late father Ed, right) as Taylor Gardner Gutters.

Taylor Gardner never expected to take over the family business, essentially following in his father’s footsteps.

He says he never planned on it, never thought about it — pretty much figured it wasn’t in the cards for him.

“I thought I’d be a career military man,” the former U.S. Marine says. “Now, I can’t see myself anywhere else.”

Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors is the re-branded version of a family business that has been around for 20 years.

Back in 2000, Taylor’s father Ed started Gardner Gutters, a small business in the heart of Lutz, but also servicing communities and residences in the outlying areas such as Land O’ Lakes, New Tampa and at-the-time-fledgling-but-on-the-rise Wesley Chapel. 

Ed Gardner

Ed ran his gutter installation and repair company with poise and charm, honesty and dignity and even a down-to-earth goodness that was evident to every one of his customers, as the small business quickly became a multi-million-dollar operation.

“I don’t know how he did it,” Taylor adds. “He did it all and everyone loved him and always came back to him when they needed new gutters or more work done. It still impresses me to this day.”

Taylor describes his dad as a hard-as-nails tough guy, who was always in great shape. Ed was a hard worker and an even nicer fellow, one that just about everyone would approach to chat with at the local grocery store, as his other son (and Taylor’s business partner) Brandon explains.

“He had a great reputation and just a real knack for people liking him,” Brandon says. “I just remember as a kid, going anywhere, and people would always come up to him and just talk to him. There were so many people at his funeral that wanted to say something about how he was such a great guy.”

Tragedy Strikes

As with many self-made-businessman stories, this one also has its tragic side. Not because Gardner Gutters failed financially but because, 12 years ago, Ed Gardner was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

And, as with just about every cancer diagnosis, Ed’s world, and his family’s, was turned upside down. He started the treatments and lifestyle changes immediately. Taylor returned from his service with the Marines for a time.

“I really thought it was no big deal,” Taylor says, “because prostate cancer runs in our family and both my grandfathers had it and didn’t die from it. Granted, I’ve been tested as much as I can and so have my brothers, but I really thought it was no big deal because I knew my dad and figured he would beat it.”

Well, Ed did, to an extent. For about three years, Ed did all of the usual treatments and was moving along pretty well until 2011, when Taylor had just returned from being deployed in Iraq, and was told Ed had only three to nine months to live. 

No home is too big or too small for the professionals at Taylor Gardner Gutters. When you need exterior services, from gutter cleaning and installation to pressure washing & more, give them a call! 
(Photo from TaylorGardnerGutters.com)

At that time, Ed was told he was beyond Stage 4 cancer — “a dead man walking” is what Taylor said the doctors told his dad — and it was time to say his goodbyes to his family members.

However, Ed being Ed, he wasn’t about to quit. He moved away from traditional treatments and started trying holistic methods, including diets and different supplements and, miraculously, he lived for another 10 years. 

“Those things (treatments), they’ll make you look like you’re wacky, but he lived another decade after a death sentence,” Taylor says. “So, it’s hard to argue with (those results).”

Even so, Ed did pass away in August.

The holistic treatments, however, were not cheap. They drained Ed of a lot of what he made building up Gardner Gutters. He did still run it, with help from his family, because he could be gone for weeks at a time getting some “controversial” treatment in Mexico.

The business took a back seat to Ed’s survival. He worked hard to keep it alive, with help from Taylor.

Taylor had been around the business most of his childhood, even helping out as “free labor” as a teenager and such, until joining the Marines, which included that deployment in Iraq. But, he always found himself returning home. 

In 2015, Ed’s health deteriorated even more and once his uncle Rusty, who had been helping run it, retired, Taylor began taking over the business. 

In 2018 the transition from Ed to Taylor began, but it was 2019 when they re-branded it Taylor Gardner Gutters, for liability reasons, from the original Gardner Gutters, even though Taylor and his crew were doing the same work, for basically the same customers, as Ed.

“Just like dad, we don’t talk to customers like customers here,” Taylor says. “We talk to them like we know them personally because we usually do, so we take pride in that’s how dad did it and that’s how we plan to continue to do it.”

Never Forgotten

In addition to custom gutter installations and repairs, Taylor Gardner Gutters also provides gutter cleaning and leaf protection, pressure washing services, screen enclosure installations, soffit and fascia repairs and window replacements and is proud to be veteran-owned-and-operated. 

As partners in the business, Taylor handles sales and the day-to-day operations behind the scenes and off-site. Brandon is the project and sites manager, usually checking on the work about to be done, being done or that has been done, up to a couple of times a day.

“And, I’m just fine with that,” says Taylor, who has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, which he earned after completing his military service. 

“I help clean out gutters in a pinch, but my days of climbing on roofs are over,” Taylor says. “Brandon is the real gutter installation expert, where he can eyeball a house from the road while driving by and tell it was done all wrong (laughs).”

Meanwhile, Brandon says he’s revelling in the fact that the Gardner boys have truly come full circle. 

“It’s a great sense of pride now taking on the family business after dad is gone,” Brandon says, “and it’s neat for me because I was helping at the start of it and now I’m back here, getting it back up to what it used to be.”

Ed’s fingerprints will forever be on the business he started when his sons were just boys. He taught them not only how to install gutters, but also how to treat the customers. As Taylor and Brandon move forward in growing the business back to its previous level, they are adding more crews, new equipment and maybe even a new office. 

Brandon says the business is primarily focused on installing gutters — which divert rainwater rolling off your roof from accumulating next to your home’s foundation and damaging it — as well as gutter repairs and installing outdoor screen enclosures.

And, Taylor says he takes to heart all that he either directly or indirectly learned watching his father become a local celebrity business owner, one who will always be sorely missed by his family and his extended family members — the customers he treated with respect and kindness until his last day.

“Anyone can learn to install gutters,” Taylor says. “What my dad taught me was how to treat people. That was the biggest thing. I think when I was younger, I would listen to my dad talk to people and when someone would yell at him, my dad would still be nice to them. As a testosterone-filled kid, I would wonder, ‘How can you take that from anyone?’ But now, I get it.”

Taylor Gardner Gutters & Exteriors is located at 19007 North U.S. Hwy. 41 in Lutz. Its business hours are Monday- Friday, 7:30 am.-5:30 p.m. For more information, call (813) 486-2730, or visit TaylorGardnerGutters.com. 

Estancia Day Coming To SVB

If you live in Estancia and haven’t had a chance to check out the new Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center in nearby Zephyrhills — or even if you have — Saturday might be for you.

SVB will hoist Estancia Residents Day on Saturday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The event will feature a free brunch and allow residents to try pickleball, tennis and padel, a free hour of yoga on the lawn and a free hour of fitness with former NFL player Melvin Williams, free promotional tent space for Estancia residents and a goody bag and raffle.

“We want everyone to see the new facility,” says SVB CEO Pascal Collard, an Estancia resident himself. “This is an event we hope to repeat with other communities, like Hunter’s Green, Tampa Palms, Seven Oaks and others.”

The event is limited to the first 75 families. To attend, email marketing@svbtenniscenter.com with your name, phone number, address and age of children attending. RSVPs are required for each guest attending, including children.

First Tennis Tourney Goes Off Well For SVB

Matthew Segura and Anastasia Nefedova waited out the rain and took home the men’s and women’s singles titles at the first SVB Open, held Feb. 11-14 at SVB.

The event featured $10,000 in total prize money and was sponsored by the CELSISU fitness drinks and world-famous tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, who was on hand and provided some tips and instruction for those who attended.

The event was the first of many Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) and Internationals Tennis Federation (ITF) events hoped for in 2021 at SVB, which opened in 2020.

Segura, the great-nephew of Tennis Hall of Fame legend Pancho Segura and the Open’s top seed, had to survive three-set matches in the first two rounds before taking out Benjamin Kittay, who only lost six total games on his way to the final of the 64-player field.

“He was hurting me a lot with his serve and volley; he started out pretty crisp and sharp,” said Segura. “But then, in the second set, I was starting to find my game and figure him out. All around, I had a great time.”

Nefedova, 22, and ranked No. 532 in the world by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), steamrolled Sarasota teenager Sofia Rojas 6-3, 6-0 in the women’s final.

“I felt good, I was just trying to work on my game throughout the tournament,” said Nefedova. “It feels pretty good getting the win.”