500!

A.C. Flora head coach Amy Martin is honored after the second round playoff match against Fountain Inn for getting her 500th career victory. Martin’s team gave her a crown along with a banner, hats, and a tshirt commemorating her accomplishment.

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A.C. Flora girls and boys head tennis coach Amy Martin grabbed her 500th career victory when her girls team beat Fountain Inn 6-0 Thursday, October 30 in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Martin said after receiving a crown from her team along with a banner, hats, and t-shirts commemorating her accomplishment. “Because 500, it’s like a WOW.”

How did she do it? She says it’s “the mantra that my parents raised me on: Do what you love and love what you do. To God be the glory for letting me do this.”

Along with her 500 wins, Martin has guided her A.C. Flora teams to 13 state championship match appearances, winning three of them with the boys and one with the girls. Her most recent came with the boys last spring, and her girls are on track to make their second straight appearance in the title match as they host Daniel November 4 in the Upper State Championship.

A.C. Flora athletic director Michelle Yeater said Martin brings stability to the program.

A. C. Flora’s hits a volley in her match against Fountain Inn No. 3 Lucy Hoskins.

“Year after year she produces quality players in the girls and boys programs,” Yeater said. “It’s consistent. I never have to worry about anything down here. She runs a tight ship, and everything is smooth, and she keeps winning. She’s been great. She’s filled me in as a new AD here at Flora, the expectations and the that need to be done to run a good tennis program.”

As for Martin, she gives credit to everyone but herself.

“So many players, girls and boys, and their parents and this program, the teachers, the administration, the assistant coaches—none of this would be possible without all of that,” she said. “It’s not me; it’s everyone. It’s for the greater good for this sport and this program that makes it so successful. And that’s what makes it fun coming to work.”

Martin’s teams certainly come to work. A day after dispatching Fountain Inn, the Falcons downed Pickens 6-0 in the quarterfinals. So far in the three playoff matchups, each won by a count of 6-0, A.C. Flora has surrendered just eight games in 15 singles matches and three doubles matches.

Sisters lead the Falcons with Emily Smith at No. 1 and Catherine at No 2. Carlyn Guffee is No. 3, and senior Ruby Cecchini is the No. 4. Senior Liza Stavrou and Liv Homewood have alternated at No. 5. Homewood has also played No. 2 doubles with Lucy Laffitte, and Ella Foley and Stokely Haile have gotten victories playing the No. 2 doubles spot as well.

Siblings are a staple of Martin’s program. Most recently, on the boys side, James and Jude Smyth won the title last spring with Will Hewitt. Hewitt’s older brother, Rick, helped A.C. Flora win a state championship in 2021. The Smith’s older sister, Frances, helped the Falcons win a state championship in 2018 as an eighth grader.

“I’ve been blessed tenfold over the years,” Martin said. “Ruby has a younger brother who we hope will be with the program next year. Once you’re in a tennis family, you’re kind of stuck. Like I said, I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

Martin hopes to have at least one more match to coach this fall. If her Falcons can get past Daniel, she’ll have that and many more to come.

“When I started in 2012, 27 seasons ago, would I have predicted this? Absolutely not,” Martin said of her 500-plus wins and four state championships. “Would I trade it for anything? Absolutely not. It’s been a great ride, and I hope the ride continues as long as the good Lord lets me.”