MOUNT VERNON – Gracie Pfeiffer has high expectations for her junior season.
Lexington’s No. 1 singles player made it to state last year as a sophomore, giving Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy’s Lynn Kader all she could handle before falling in three sets. This year, Pfeiffer aims to make it back to the round of 16 – and this time, she wants to advance.
She began that postseason journey on Saturday, when she took home the No. 1 singles trophy at the Ohio Cardinal Conference tournament for the second straight year.
Pfeiffer defeated Mount Vernon’s Justine Hull (6-0, 6-0) and Ashland’s Korinne Harris (6-1, 6-1) to defend her title. She was named Player of the Year in the OCC for the second straight season.
“It feels good …” Pfeiffer said afterwards. “That’s good momentum going into sectionals, and hopefully districts. And then maybe state.”
Pfeiffer played to her strengths Saturday in Mount Vernon, winning with her trademark precision. She exhausted Hull and Harris – not by overpowering them, but by making them cover every corner of the court.
“She’s a tough out, whoever has to play Gracie,” Lexington head coach Ron Schaub said. “She doesn’t beat herself. She’s very accurate, she’s very athletic, she’s mentally tough – she’s got all the credentials for a collegiate tennis player. So I expect big things out of her and she’s always done real well.”
Pfeiffer said her main goal coming into every match is consistency. Her goal with Harris in the championship was to “move her around” and capitalize on mistakes. She considered Saturday successful in that respect.
“I’m not much of a hard hitter …” she said. “So my goal is just to be consistent and then finish the points when I have the chance.”
Despite Pfeiffer’s efforts, Lexington finished third on Saturday, one point behind second-place Ashland and 13 points behind champion Wooster. The Generals had a three point lead over Ashland coming into the tournament, and a six-point lead over Lexington (the OCC determines its champion by adding points earned in regular-season conference matches to tournament totals).
Wooster notched 46 points this season, followed by Ashland (34); Lexington (33); Mount Vernon (21); Madison (6); and West Holmes (2.5). Mansfield Senior did not field a team this fall.
Sectional tournaments for girls tennis will begin Oct. 5.
1. Wooster: 46 points (24 at tournament)
2. Ashland: 34 points (15 at tournament)
3. Lexington: 33 points (17 at tournament)
4. Mount Vernon: 21 points (9 at tournament)
5. Madison: 6 points (2 at tournament)
6. West Holmes: 2.5 points (0.5 at tournament)
*Mansfield Senior did not field a team this year.
FIRST-TIME CHAMP: Wooster celebrated its first OCC girls tennis title on Saturday, following a second-place finish to Ashland last year. First-year head coach Matthew Knight gave his team all the credit after accepting the trophy.
“I’ll be honest, most of the credit’s to the girls. They spent a ton of time training, practicing. Some of them will leave practice and then go train more. So I just try and get them here, make sure the bus is on time, and let them play,” Knight said with a smile. “We definitely go over things and keep them focused, but it’s mostly the girls. They just love the game and they’re good at it.”
The Generals certainly proved it Saturday. Senior Audrey Cochran took home the No. 2 singles trophy by beating Mount Vernon’s Lucy Ogle (6-0, 6-0) and Ashland’s Lydia Sinchok (6-0, 6-1). Sophomore Minnie Pozefsky won gold in No. 3 singles by knocking off Lexington’s Jade Adkins (6-0, 6-1) and Mount Vernon’s Marah Staats (6-2, 6-2).
“Second and third singles is consistency. That’s where they win matches,” Knight noted. “They just limit their mistakes, they stay calm and make good shots. That’s how those girls win matches, and that’s what they’ve done all season.”
Wooster’s first doubles team, consisting of Emma Boreman and Alexis Kakanuru, took home a tournament title as well, defeating Mount Vernon (6-1, 6-1) and Ashland (6-0, 6-3). Its second doubles team, consisting of Macey Dillion and Lauren Anderson, fell in a grueling title match to Lexington’s Sarah Grosse and Kylie Diehl (6-3, 6-1).
Knight said his team has been lucky to stay injury-free this season, and to not have any players quarantined due to COVID-19. He believes his team will have the potential to repeat as conference champions next fall, given the experience it will have back.
“I’m real optimistic for next year as well. A lot of our girls are juniors,” Knight said. “We are losing two, we’re losing our second singles and one of our second doubles. Audrey and Macy are seniors, so we won’t get them back, which is definitely a loss. They’re both fantastic players and just really important to the team.
“But we are picking up a couple of younger players that are coming up that are pretty good. So we will see how next year goes. It should be pretty similar. We’re getting a lot of the same girls back, so that’s exciting.”
ARROWS TAKE SILVER: While Wooster stayed injury- and quarantine-free this season, Ashland wasn’t so lucky.
The Arrows’ No. 2 singles star, Audra McBride, was one of several AHS students quarantined recently after a peer in her homeroom tested positive for COVID-19. McBride has been instructed to self-isolate until Sept. 29, which sidelined her for Saturday’s conference tournament.
Her absence proved costly for the Arrows, who had to shuffle players around to fill the void.
“In terms of points, we were actually No. 2 (coming into Saturday),” Ashland head coach Taylor Long noted. “So our thought was, you know, it might be a miracle, but if we can find a way to upset the doubles and maybe find a way to sneak out a win, we’re still mathematically in it. And it didn’t turn out that way.
“Wooster and Lex are just so tough, and there were a lot of other good players – like Mount Vernon, I thought, had a really good day – and just all around, some good tennis. And things didn’t fall the way we wanted them to.”
The Arrows still managed to compete without McBride, taking second place in No. 1 and 2 singles, as well as first doubles. Sinchok moved up to take her place at No. 2 and advanced to the championship match, falling to Wooster’s Cochran in an intense battle. Harris avenged an early-season loss to Wooster’s Sophia Mathur in the No. 1 singles semifinals before bowing out to Pfeiffer in the title match.
The Arrows finished one point ahead of Lexington for second place in the conference. Long said he was proud of the way his team competed Saturday, given the circumstances.
“After those two (singles) losses took place, that’s when we kind of realized, ‘OK, we’re probably out of it. We’re probably not gonna win this,’” Long recalled. “But at the same time, I was really proud of the way they played and I thought they stepped up.”
JACKETS’ TIER HONORED: While Mount Vernon didn’t claim any gold medals on Saturday, its head coach was honored for his team’s improvement this season.
Steve Tier was named OCC Coach of the Year for the first time in his 15-year career. His Yellow Jackets went 3-2 in regular-season conference matches this fall, marking their first season with a winning record since Tier took over the girls’ program five years ago. They beat perennial powerhouse Lexington, 3-2, and also took down West Holmes (5-0) and Madison (4-1).
Tier seemed shocked on Saturday when he realized he’d won the award.
“That was very unexpected …” he said. “I’m very thankful.”
Tier said he was proud of his team’s performance on Saturday. The team took third place in No. 2 singles, second place in No. 3 singles, and fourth place in both doubles tournaments.
“I think they played very consistently with how we played during the year,” Tier siad, “and so they achieved what I hoped they would achieve.”
Staats earned silver at No. 3 singles, something Tier said she’s “worked very hard for.” She’ll team up with fellow senior Justine Hull (the Jackets’ No. 1 singles player) in first doubles this postseason, in hopes of making a deep tournament run.
“That’s what they wanted to do as seniors, and I always try to take into account what they want to do,” Tier said with a smile. “So we’re kind of hoping that they can make a run late into the tournament.”
