The Anthony Wayne girls tennis team has advanced to the state semifinals of Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Division I team tournament for the third straight year, clinching that berth with a home quarterfinal victory Tuesday over Perrysburg.
The Generals, ranked No. 2 in the D-I coaches poll, moved to 19-1 on the season, after having closed as Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division champion.
AW took all three singles matches Tuesday to secure the victory, and the two doubles matches that were still in progress were halted once the Generals had clinched.
Generals junior Mara Boyd defeated Perrysburg's Lillith Dunn 6-0, 6-1 in No. 1 singles, AW freshman Jillian To beat the Yellow Jackets' Eeman Hashem 6-1, 6-0 in No. 2 singles, and sophomore teammate Cora Langenderfer took a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Erin Ross in No. 3 singles.
The Generals, who will have six players competing in the individual (singles and doubles) D-I district tournament beginning Wednesday at Port Clinton, will face top-ranked Mason in the OTCA state semis Oct. 19 at the College of Wooster.
“There's a lot of excitement,” first-year AW head coach Jill Feltner said. “It was the goal of the girls at the start of the season to make it to states again, so they are proud of themselves and are really coming [to Wooster] to win it.”
Mason is the only team to beat AW this season, blanking the visiting Generals 5-0 in their second match of the season back on Aug. 13. Anthony Wayne lost to Lewis Center Olentangy Orange in the 2022 OTCA state semis and was topped by Upper Arlington in last season's semis.
Boyd and Langenderfer will compete in the D-I district doubles bracket, as will AW seniors Mallory Rettig and Emily Szul, who have been AW's No.1 doubles team during the season.
To and senior Harper Clifton will play in the district singles competition, which concludes Friday at Port Clinton.
The top two placers in both singles and doubles advance to the D-I state tournament Oct. 17-18 at Wooster.
Anthony Wayne had a perfect 10-0 record in NLL play, also winning the NLL tournament to win the Buckeye Division title.
For the OTCA event, Clifton's No. 2 doubles partner will be senior KaiYing Buskirk.
“Any one of these girls could be a top player at any school,” Feltner said. “From one through seven [in lineup], the depth is the best that we've seen. We're definitely looking for some of the girls to be moving on [to individual state tourney]. That's a very good possibility.”
First Published October 9, 2024, 1:24 a.m.
