Girls tennis wins 8th consecutive Southwestern Conference crown

It’s been since 2018 that a team other than Avon has hoisted the Southwestern Conference championship trophy in girls tennis.

The Eagles were at it again on Tuesday, reaching the championship round in all five draws of the SWC tournament and winning three of them to earn their eighth consecutive SWC crown. Last year, Avon shared the tournament title with Amherst but won the overall championship on the strength of going undefeated in SWC duals and sharing the tournament title. This year, the Eagles went undefeated in duals and won the tournament outright.

“Anytime you’re playing in all five championship matches, it’s exciting,” said coach Eric Korey. “One of our goals is to get every position here, and one of our goals is to win every position. We didn’t do that today, but we have 38 points out of a possible 40 you can get in the tournament. I’d say that’s pretty good.

“I’m proud of the girls. Winning this tournament, now we get both sides. We got the duals, which is 50 percent, and then we get the tournament, too. Last year the tournament was really close. There wasn’t much turnover in the conference, not just us, but in the conference in general. So, for us to barely sneak it by last year and to come out and dominate this year, I think it says a lot about how much these girls worked.”

The champions for Avon were junior Isabella Gentile at third singles, juniors Sam Jackson and Samantha Gault at first doubles, and sophomore Nora Fiest and junior Karina Marsden at second doubles. All won their matches in straight sets, with Gentile sweeping her way to a 6-0, 6-0 victory. In addition, sophomore Grace Gedeon lost the most competitive match of the day, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) at second singles and senior Ashley DeHaven fell in first singles.

“It’s amazing,” said Jackson of winning the title. “It definitely makes me feel like a special player in that all my hard work during the off-season is going to something. Most of us are coming back from last year. We’ve all just grown as players.”

Having won so many consecutive championships, there is certainly an expectation of excellence placed on the Avon program. Going through the conference dual meets without a loss only added to the pressure. But Jackson said the Eagles embrace that pressure and use it to their advantage.

“I feel it makes us more motivated, especially since we were the first seed,” she said. “More is expected out of us. So, it definitely puts pressure on us, but I feel that it also makes us work harder.”

It might be tempting for Avon to sit back and celebrate another conference championship, but the postseason is just around the corner. The Eagles face Magnificat soon in a Northeast Ohio semifinal in the Coaches Cup team tournament, and sectionals begin the week of September 28, with districts coming the following week.

“The next season, the next part of the season, marches on here,” Korey said. “We’re still in the Coaches Cup. We’ve got sectionals and districts coming up. So, you know, it’s time to turn the page to the next thing.”