Lillith Dunn, Editor-In-Chief
eSomethin staff
The sun is just peaking over the horizon when they leave their hotel. The first rays of light illuminate the Lindner Family Courts, home of the Cincinnati Open, as they exit their cars, tennis bags at the ready. The sun has just risen when the pops of a tennis ball echo across the warm-up courts that the PHS Girls Tennis Varsity team has been given. An hour later, the team is announcing their lineup at the OTCA State Tournament, preparing for the matches ahead of them.
It has been seven years since the PHS tennis team has made it to state competition as a team. The Ohio Tennis Coaches Association, or OTCA, holds a team-based competition every year, where the top four teams in the state for Division One and Two compete against each other.
This is very different from the other state competition in high school tennis, which is based on individuals rather than teams as a whole.
“Going individually was fun my sophomore year. I went by myself, so I was kind of lonely, but then in junior year, I was able to go with Madi Watkins and that was super fun. I think going as a team was just really special and I had a great first match,” Penelope Giammarco, a senior captain and first singles on the team, said.
In order to get to states, the Perrysburg team had to win against three D1 schools in a single-elimination style competition spread out over the course of a few weeks. The team first defeated Findlay 5-0, then Notre Dame Academy 3-2, then faced their rivals, Anthony Wayne. Despite losing to the Generals in the regular season, the Jackets would win 3-2, after freshman Savannah Boris obtained victory in a tight three-set match.
“The victory felt really really good, because we haven’t ever been Anthony Wayne while I’ve been on [the] team, and it was just a really fun experience. We weren’t expecting to win, so . . . honestly, it felt surreal,” Ava Geffe, a junior and first doubles player explained.
This victory allowed the team to make it to the state competition, placing them in the top four in the state of Ohio for D1.
Before going to this competition, the Jackets first had to sharpen their skills in the practices leading up to the 18th.
“I definitely worked on my serve a lot and working with harder pace. But the biggest thing was working on my mental game, I had to go in with a positive attitude and make sure even if I was down to not let it show,” Ellie Pesci, a freshman and first doubles on the team explained.
“I . . . play outside of school, so I practiced with my brother to help me prepare. . . .I definitely worked on my serve a lot, and . . . just returning volleys that are coming straight at you at the net,” Geffe said.
The group competed on October 18, first facing the school Magnificat. After several close matches, the Jackets would lose 3-1 against the Blue Streak’s, and move on to play for 3rd and 4th place in the state against Upper Arlington. The Jackets were defeated 3-0, achieving 4th place in the state of Ohio.
The team had a great experience, including the competition itself.
“The atmosphere for this was so different because . . . the competition was so much higher and yeah, it was really cool. Even though we were on the practice courts, it was still amazing, just looking around and seeing, just being in the atmosphere,” Giammarco said.
Before reaching states, the Jackets had a successful regular season within, and outside of, the Northern Lakes League (NLL). They would finish their season with a 15/4 record against a large variety of schools, some whom were ranked top in the state.
Along with this, the girls had a successful result at the Norwalk Invitation, a tournament which took place before regular season began. The Jackets would achieve four first place finishes within their respective positions, while first doubles finished in second place after a close match.
To end their regular season, the tennis team finished second overall at NLL’s. Second doubles would finish in third overall, while the other four positions came second, only losing to Anthony Wayne.
Pecsi stated, “This year was an amazing season. I couldn’t have asked for a better season at all.”
“I’m really proud of our team. We definitely had the right mindset, I think the entire season. We had some pretty tough matches and . . . so I think having the right mindset during those matches helped us come up on top. . . . I’m just proud of us for fighting and honestly the team as a whole got really, really close,” Giammarco said.
As the sun set on the girls’ season, the group chat was filled with memories of the tournament. Photos filled the group chat, along with plans for future hangout, as the girls begin the rest of their year after an achievement-filled season.
Other stories on eSomethin:
- PODCAST: Somethin’ In Session – Fall sports (and play) recap
- Girls Tennis Season Ends with Strong Accomplishments
- Will Perrysburg JV hockey repeat as state champions?
- Racing to Homecoming: A cross country racer learns to balance athletics with the chaos of HOCO
- NLL Boys Basketball match-up ends in brawl
