Mason duo wins OHSAA state tennis championship

The state tennis tournament returned to Cincinnati and local athletes made the most of home court, as Mason won the OHSAA Division I state doubles championship.

The Mason Comets captured the doubles state title for the third straight year in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I state tournament on Oct. 17 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

Mason senior Adriana Moreno and junior Saanvi Reddy claimed their first doubles championship, the third in a row for the Comets. Moreno and Reddy defeated teammates and defending back-to-back state champions Emma Wagner and Pratyusha Chaudhuri to be crowned champions.

It was a record setting state tournament showing for Mason in the doubles category, as the Comets became the first team in OHSAA history to send three doubles teams to the state semifinal.

Division I singles

Mason senior Addison Cassidy, last year’s state champion, faced a rematch of last year’s state final against Olentangy Berlin’s Soleil Cordell in the semifinals. After Cassidy won the first set, momentum shifted and Cordell was able to secure the 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory.

Cordell, a junior, wound up taking home first place as she defeated Hudson sophomore Emma Liu. Cassidy would withdraw from the third place match to rest for the Oct. 18 OTCA team tournament, taking home fourth place.

Renee Harper, a sophomore from Oak Hills, won her first round match 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. Harper fell in the second round to the eventual-champion Cordell 6-1, 6-1.

Ursuline Academy’s Libby Goedde, a senior, was bested in the first round by state runner-up Liu 7-5, 6-1.

Division I doubles

With all four doubles semifinalists in Division I coming from Cincinnati, the city was guaranteed at least one state title. Mason sent three teams, while Sycamore added another.

In a rematch of the sectional and district finals which the doubles teams split, junior Saanvi Reddy and senior Adriana Moreno defeated fellow Mason Comets Pratyusha Chaudhuri and Emma Wagner 6-1, 6-4 in the state title match.

It can be tough facing off against friends and teammates, but Moreno and Reddy emphasized their ability to focus on the competition. “When we’re on-court, we put aside that we’re teammates,” Reddy said, “but off-court we’re all friends, best friends.”

For Moreno and Reddy, this season was their first time playing together. “We have a great connection, she’s good at everything,” Moreno said of Reddy. “She was awesome,” Reddy said.

“We definitely had our ups and downs at the beginning of the season, and we learned how to become best friends on court and off court. We learned how to really work together,” Reddy said.

For Mason teammates Wagner and Chaudhuri, they finish the season with a silver medal to go alongside their two previous golds. They defeated Allison Sayles and Serena Sayles of Sycamore in the semifinals, 6-0, 6-1.

The Sayles sisters wound up taking third place, defeating Mason sophomores Bhavana Singidi and Vanmayi Podili in the third place match. Singidi and Podili, the third Mason doubles team, are both sophomores and can be expected to make a return in future seasons after advancing to the state semifinal this year.

Division II singles

Indian Hill senior Sophia Thompson capped off a terrific career in Division II singles with a silver medal, coming up just short in a back-and-forth three set loss to Olentangy Orange’s Genevieve Hayden. Hayden, a junior, took first with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory in the final. Thompson advanced to the state finals in all four seasons, finishing second three times and fourth once.

Jara Huerzeler, the New Richmond junior and Swiss transfer, won her first round matchup 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 against Valentina Buchkova of Maumee Valley Country Day. Huerzeler would fall in the second round to Gilmour Academy’s Abigail Lynch 6-1, 6-1.

Division II doubles

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy juniors Corrine Labin and Miranda Wang fell in the state semifinals in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3 to Gilmour Academy’s Grier Peckham and Caroline Koch, last year’s state title winners.

Katherine Connelly and Caroline Connelly, twin seniors from Cincinnati Country Day, lost their first round matchup against Columbus Academy’s Gabrielle Stewart and Emma Tso 6-1, 6-1.

Mariemont junior Lucy Hanser and senior Lauren Gaughan were defeated 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in the first round by Priya Mehta and Victoria Dizon of Columbus School for Girls.

What’s up next?

Competitors from Mason and Indian Hill in the Oct. 17 OHSAA state finals will have a quick turnaround as they represent the southwest district in the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association team state tournament, Oct. 18.

Mason has won eight-straight OTCA team titles and looks poised for another with strong showings at OHSAA state. Indian Hill won back-to-back titles in Division II last year, and will seek a third in a competitive field.

Competing alongside Mason in Division I are Upper Arlington, Magnificat and Perrysburg.

Besides Indian Hill, the other teams vying for a Division II crown are Columbus Academy, Olentangy Orange, Maumee Valley Country Day.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati girls state tennis winners