“In the 50-plus seasons I’ve coached at Centerville — boys and girls — we’ve never had all seven players move on,” Elks coach Scott Long said. “These girls worked hard in the offseason, and they came back faster and stronger. By match three or four this season, I knew this was a special team.”
The 18-3 Elks switched it up a bit for the postseason, but the result was the same.
Sophomore Elise Hedrick and senior Eve Alappatt — the first and second singles players during the regular season — teamed up to play doubles in the tournament. The top seeds at the Centerville sectional took home the title for the second consecutive year.
“Last year we played doubles and almost got to state so, since this is my last year, I thought doubles would be our best chance,” Alappatt said.
Seniors Sasha Riley and Reese Davis, the regular-season first doubles team, finished second to their teammates to advance to the district tournament as a second seed. Riley is the team’s lone returning state qualifier.
With the Elks top two singles players teaming up, Centerville doubles teammates Emma Morr and Hazel Rindler went the solo route, joining third singles player Marisa Edwards in the D-I sectional singles bracket.
Edwards, a senior, finished as runner-up to Miamisburg’s Sophie Jovanov while Rindler and Morr, both unseeded, posted upsets over the third and fourth seeds, respectively, to set up a third-place match against each other. Morr came out on top but both players advanced to the district.
“I think our team this year is very well-rounded,” Alappatt said. “Some teams have good No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, but our whole team is strong.”
The combination of tenacity and talent has been a winning one for the Elks.
“This year’s team could beat last year’s team 4-1,” Long said. “They have bought into everything I’ve asked them to do with great success.”
Southwest District Girls Tennis Tournament
When: Wednesday-Thursday (Oct. 9-10) starting at 9 a.m.
Where: Mason High School tennis courts at Mason Middle School, 6370 Mason Montgomery Road
Admission: $5 student, $8 adult
Brackets/seedings: Visit www.ohsaa.org/Southwest-Sports-Tournaments/Tennis-Girls
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