HIGH-SCHOOL-SPORTS

See who won girls tennis sectional titles and advanced to the district tourney

James Weber
Cincinnati Enquirer

The Southwest District of the Ohio High School Athletic Association completed its sectional girls tennis tournaments this weekend.

There were two tournaments for each division, the Cincinnati ATP bracket at the Lindner Center and another at Mason High School.

The top four finishers in each location’s bracket advance to this week’s district tournament, which begins Thursday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.

Here are the results of who advanced to districts. In every bracket, the No. 1 seed won the tournament but there were a few upsets in the seedings, with some unseeded players moving on.

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Turpin senior Sarah Clark serves on her way to a Division I sectional title during the OHSAA sectional girls tennis tournament Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

Division I singles

ATP: Turpin senior Sarah Clark breezed through the sectional draw, dropping only two games in her five matches, including a 6-1, 6-0 win in the final over Oak Hills senior Morgan Lint.

Milford senior Jasmin Mu took third place over Lakota West senior Leah Schleibaum, who finished fourth. Mu won a three-set thriller in the do-or-die quarterfinal round that determined who advanced to districts. Schleibaum, unseeded, knocked off the No. 3 seed in three sets in the quarterfinals and lost a tight match to Lint in the semis.

Mason: Seeds held to form as Mason sophomore Addison Cassidy defeated Seton senior Ella Vatter in the final, 6-2, 6-1. Cassidy was Division II state doubles runner-up last year for Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy.

Sycamore sophomore Lisa Kai won the third-place match over Mason freshman Chloe Zhang, as both advance. Kai won a close match in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-4, then lost to Vatter in three sets in the semis.

St. Ursula senior Elle Schuermann hits the ball in doubles with teammate Emily Jennewein in doubles during the OHSAA sectional girls tennis tournament Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

Division I doubles

ATP: The top four seeds advanced to the district tournament.

St. Ursula seniors Emily Jennewein and Elle Schuermann, the top seed, defeated Turpin seniors Ellen Benintendi and Brooke Malone in a three-set thriller in the finals, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2). The St. Ursula duo had dropped only two games in its previous three matches.

The Turpin duo were the three seed and beat the No. 2 seed, Walnut Hills sisters Irisa and Perasa Poompanit, in a tight match in the semis, 7-5, 6-4. Walnut Hills took third place by beating Lakota East senior Abigail Price and junior Reagan Gilbert, the four seed.

Mason: The host Comets had the top two seeds, who met in the finals. Sophomore Emma Wagner and junior Pratyusha Chauduri, the top seed, beat freshman Saavi Reddy and sophomore Ana Gotike in three sets in the finals: 7-6, 8-6, 7-5.

Seeds held for the other two spots as Ursuline seniors Brooklyn Zappin and Neha Arcot defeated Sycamore’s Allison Sayles and Caitlin Meyer for third place.

Hamilton Badin's Emmy Demmel serves during the sectional tournament at Mason High School Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.

Division II singles

ATP: Indian Hill teammates Sophia Thompson and Caroline Brown were the top two seeds and the class of the bracket, with neither dropping a game until they met in the final, where Thompson won 6-1, 6-2. Thompson was Division II state runner-up last season, playing for Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy.

Cincinnati Country Day sophomore Ayla Daoud, unseeded, knocked off the four seed in the quarterfinals, lost to Thompson, then beat senior teammate Rana Arebi in the third-place match. Arebi was the three seed.

Mason: Badin teammates Caroline Boyle and Emmy Demmel were the top two seeds in singles and reached the semifinals. Boyle, a junior, was third in the district singles tourney last year and reached the state quarterfinals. They advanced to districts with No. 3 seed Brogan Bell of Seven Hills. Jayden Puryear of Summit Country Day knocked off the four seed to advance as well.

Cincinnati Country Day senior Rana Arebi hits the ball during the OHSAA sectional girls tennis tournament Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

Division II doubles

ATP: Seeds held to form, as Indian Hill seniors Brooke Arington and Lillian Dwyer, the top seed, beat the Mariemont duo of Ella Malafa and Lucy Glassmeyer for the title. Arington and Dwyer only dropped four games in the tournament.

Indian Hill sisters Cassie and Lexi Larsen took third place over Mariemont seniors Cece Kuwatch and Veronica Drake.

Mason: Summit Country Day juniors Maggie Marburger and Katelyn Bastos, the top seed, beat No. 2 seed Lucy Snyder and Corrine Labin of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy in the final in three sets 3-6, 6-0, 6-4.

SCD and CHCA sent their second doubles teams to districts as well after they knocked off seeded teams earlier in the draw. CHCA senior Abbi Stokes and freshman Miranda Wang took third place over Summit’s Annette Lalonde and Ceci Viveros.

The Summit duo won its quarterfinal match in three sets over the three seed. The CHCA duo upset the four seed in the second round took the eventual district champs to three sets in the semifinals.

Turpin senior doubles teammates Ellen Benintendi, left, and Brooke Malone rally together between points during the OHSAA sectional girls tennis tournament Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.