THE tennis for high school girls district tournaments are scheduled for Tuesday and Friday, and the brackets are filled with expected names and potential upsets.
Amiya Bowles, two-time defending Division II singles championa junior at Bexley, cruised through the Columbus School for Girls section last week with four wins 6-0, 6-0 and improved to 48-0 in her career.
One team, Upper Arlington, had the distinction of advancing all seven players on its roster to its local Division I section.
UA hosts the first two rounds of the Division I tournament on Tuesday. The top four in singles and doubles will advance Oct. 17-18 at Wooster College.
Columbus Academy hosts Division II, from which singles and doubles champions and runners-up advance to state. The semi-finals and finals of both divisions will take place on Friday at the Academy.
Here are five scenarios entering the district tournament:
1. Dublin’s Kunard Scioto surges to earn district spot
Scioto senior Amelia Kunard is no stranger to district, having advanced as a freshman and sophomore, but she returns this year after being unseeded for the playoffs.
Kunard (19-3) beat No. 4 seed Avery Reed of Olentangy Orange 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a UA qualifying match and finished fourth. Kunard is one of five unseeded singles players to make the district.
The fact that Kunard progressed through a grueling sectional that included top teams Dublin Coffman, New Albany and UA sweetened that feat, coach CJ Juda said.
“We had five top players on the same site and only four could advance, so it was going to be a tough game no matter who it was,” Judah said. “(Kunard) didn’t play his best game early (against Reed); she was thinking too much, but we regrouped. It was definitely a mental battle for her. She has the skills. She knew (Reed) would probably be the one standing in her way of potentially getting to state.
2. Unranked players try to establish themselves in the district
Each of the four Division I sections had at least one unranked singles player or advanced doubles team at district.
One of those duos, Watterson junior Francie Ciesinski and freshman Dory Scharfenbarger, swept top seeds Kate Poeppelman and Gracie Wilson of Pickerington North 6-3, 6-4 to win the doubles title from Pickerington Central 2 on Saturday.
Another unseeded doubles team, Hilliard Davidson juniors Greta Bordjadze and Aila Mahefkey, finished second in Central’s other section. Both Central and UA hosted two sections simultaneously.
The seeds are largely held elsewhere, although No. 2 seed Tyra Butler of Worthington Kilbourne knocked out the No. 1 seed. Nora Grennan of the Watkins Memorial 6-0, 6-2 in a central singles final. Another second seed, UA freshman Kylie Husted, defeated unseeded teammate Emily Lin 6-4, 6-0 in one of their school’s singles finals.
3. Upper Arlington leads team representation at district
Besides Husted, the youngest daughter of Lieutenant Governor Jon HustedAU senior Alice Hawley and Alexa Roth, sophomore won a doubles championship, edging teammates Dani Ball and Ava Kramer 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) in the final.
Unseeded UA teammates Lin and Nancy Li, the latter of whom finished fourth, also advanced.
Five New Albany players left, led by UA double section champions Sophia Bojko and Reava Desai.
4. Columbus Academy paces the Division II field
The host Vikings advanced the maximum six players from their local section, as the top three finishers in singles and doubles qualified for the Division II district.
Singles players Gabrielle Stewart and Ella Tsao, sophomores and freshmen respectively, advanced to singles. Stewart won the sectional title when Tsao had to default in the final, and senior Tamanna Arya and junior Sophie Wu outlasted teammates Lara Wood (senior) and Mary Panley (junior) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in the final.
Bexley, CSG and Worthington Christian took the spots in the CSG section. Victoria Dizon and Priya Mehta, both juniors, of the Unicorns won the doubles title.
5. Columbus Academy qualifies for OTCA state tournament
Academy swept Central Buckeye League rival CSG 3-0 Friday to win the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Division II district championship and advance to state Oct. 19 in Wooster.
Academy (19-1) will face Gates Mills Hawken or Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown in the semifinals.
The Division I district championship will be determined Wednesday when New Albany (14-4) visits Upper Arlington (12-0). UA is seeking its fifth district title in six years and New Albany its second in three seasons.
The winner will face Rocky River Magnificat in the semifinals.
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This article was originally published on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio High School District Girls Tennis Tournament Preview
