Robinson isn’t normally known for its sports excellence. Despite this, however, the Knights found success in many of the spring sports they competed in. Let’s review Robinson’s achievements this spring and see how they’re proving that RHS is a sports powerhouse in our district.

For girls’ tennis, this season was an interesting one. The team played an incredibly difficult schedule, facing off against much larger schools such as Gaither, Sickles, Newsome, and Plant. This schedule led to the team being considered an underdog, going into the district playoff with a losing record. Any negative perception of the girls teams instantly disappeared as the team played their first playoff game, however, with Robinson destroying Riverview and claiming third in the district. Aside from their success, one of the most impressive things about this Robinson team is the positive attitude they maintained throughout the season. Despite playing incredibly difficult matches, they persevered.

“We had a fun and successful season, placing third at districts and growing together in the process,” Captain Isabella Musolino (’26) said. “We will practice in the off season and come back better than ever”.

The girls spent all season playing and improving against better teams, and now look to train in the offseason.

On the boy’s side of the court, things were just as successful.

The boy’s tennis season began with an air of uncertainty, with several key seniors having graduated. However, any doubts of the team’s strength were quickly dissipated as freshmen stepped up to fill important roles.

“We played hard all season and won all of our district regular season play,” Tennis Captain Nate Clement (’25) said. “Although we were in a new district and had to face some tough competition, we won five of seven (matches) and for the third time in a row became district champions. We are confident that we will make another run at states, and overall, this year has been an extreme success. We are excited to finish strong.”

Easily winning districts, the RHS boys have asserted themselves as a powerhouse in the area, and are definitely a formidable opponent for any team, regionals and beyond.

Another spring sport that experienced success on both the girls and boys sides was lacrosse, with both teams flipping the narrative on RHS lax.

The girls experienced adversity from the get-go. Their season was almost canceled due to not having a coach, and even when a chaperone for the girls was found, the team had a lackluster turnout that led to a lack of depth and substitutes. Despite these challenges, however, the girls didn’t give up but were instead motivated to work even harder, fighting to overcome the shortcomings experienced by girls’ lacrosse in the past.

“Our 2025 season had a lot of ups and downs, but we did well pushing through despite the tough circumstances,” Captain Elina Sizemore (’27) said. “We had no subs the majority of the season, but the team worked hard to put us in a good position. Next year is looking a bit rough, but the returning players will be working hard to build the team up again and make next season great.”

Despite facing difficult teams, having few players, and almost not being able to compete this season, the girls stayed upbeat and played as hard as they could, a mentality the team should look to bring into the next season.

For RHS Boys Lacrosse, this season was for the record books. In the past, wins for the Robinson boys’ team have been hard to find. Before this year, the boys had never achieved a winning record, and even finished multiple seasons with zero wins. But this year, it was different, with boys fighting to earn a 12-3 regular season record and even advancing to regionals.

“This season can be summed up as the year we made history for the program. We did things like having the highest win record in Robinson Lacrosse history and beating Steinbrenner for the first time,” Captain Aidan Parks (’25) said. “It’s not looking great for next year. There are so many kids who are doing so good, like Bryce, Amir, and Will, who will carry the team, but unfortunately, it’s a 10-12 person sport.”

Although they achieved unparalleled success, they’re losing a massive number of core players this offseason and will have to fight to reach the same heights next year.

Not all teams at Robinson are going to be suffering in the following years, however, with the Knights’ softball team now primed for success.

“This softball season had many twists- from losing a coach to gaining an even stronger leader,” Captain Lillian Davis (’25) said. “Next year, the team will be upperclassmen-heavy and filled with lots of leadership, the perfect group of girls to continue to rebrand Robinson softball.”

At the beginning of the season, the Knights switched head coaches from Bayli Robinson to Jesse Strong, a transition that seemed to threaten the team’s prospects this season. Despite the change in leadership, however, the knights persevered, fearlessly moving through a schedule stacked with teams such as Gaither and Steinbrenner. Next year, the girls are due for an even more successful season, with the team only losing two seniors while hopefully gaining a plethora of new talent with the incoming freshmen as well as the experience of the returning players.

A focus on young talent is a theme common throughout both bat-and-ball sports, with the boys’ team also focusing on development for next season, hoping to capitalize on a promising group of underclassmen.

“I think as a team we did well, but definitely left a lot on the table,” Captain Brady Capps (’25) said. “Many ups and downs throughout the season led us to miss out on a bid to regionals, but we showed the county what we can do as a team. We have incredible young talent, and I’m excited to see what the guys can do next year.”

Despite a somewhat disappointing end to the 2025 season, the boys managed to maintain a positive attitude and already have their eyes set on next season. This year, the baseball team is only losing six seniors from its varsity team, managing to keep the majority of the roster for next season while being able to reinforce any holes with players from JV and incoming freshmen.

Throughout all of the Robinson teams competing this spring, one thing is clear: a focus on development and sustainability, ensuring success in future seasons as well as the present. 

This trait was especially noticeable in girls track, who, despite the number of seniors leaving, are keeping an extremely positive attitude for next season.

“Overall, the team has shown so much growth with the gain of many new freshmen, leading to the team having good, strong relays. All relays made it out of districts to regionals,” Captain Bryn White (’25) said. “Next season is looking great, with hopefully even more incoming freshmen.”

With the freshmen this season continuing to develop and new freshmen coming to reinforce the team, next season’s prospects look bright as new talent refreshes girls’ track. This season, the girls were able to advance all the way to regionals for all of their relays, an impressive feat that demonstrates the huge amount of skill spread throughout the entire team. This widespread success is something the girls’ team is looking to continue in the upcoming seasons.

The girls weren’t the only ones tearing up the track, however, with the boys also experiencing a great season, although not necessarily an easy one.

“Track season this year got off to a bit of a rocky start for the distance side with a few of the 4×800 guys being injured, but once they returned redemption was inevitable,” Captain Peter Smalley (’26) said. “Throughout the season, there were many strong performances and promising talent shown by our underclassmen. This year was mainly a year of growth and development for our team, and we have high hopes for next season.”

This season, the boys managed to qualify a large number of athletes, pushing past any initial resistance to achieve success on the track. Multiple athletes were able to break out of districts to regionals, and with the amount of experience underclassmen gained this track season, this year wasn’t just successful but also crucial to the development of the boys’ team.

Last but not least, the sport that Robinson has undoubtedly experienced the most success in: Flag Football.

This year, the flag team is in pursuit of its ninth consecutive state championship, having already established itself as the most successful flag program in the entire state, and one of the most prominent in the entire country. Despite this, however, the season wasn’t always easy. After losing many key seniors last year, the girls varsity team only received several freshmen, with the team once again being upperclassmen heavy. Additionally, the team struggled on the field, losing to Alonso, Lennard, and Land O’Lakes.

Despite any struggles, however, the team stayed positive.

“The flag season has had some ups and downs, but we’ve grown and continue to grow from them,” Captain Haidyn Spano (’25) said. “So far we’ve gotten to regionals and are aiming to win another state title.”

Robinson managed to find success in almost every spring sport they competed in, often competing as the team to beat in our district, helping prove that when it comes to spring sports, Robinson is a South Tampa powerhouse.