Unseeded Eagles earn Final Four berth in Coaches Cup tennis tournament

What started two years ago as a youth movement has come to fruition for the Avon girls tennis team.

Despite not earning a seed in the Northeast Ohio bracket, the Eagles will be representing the district later this month in the state semifinals of the Ohio Tennis Coaches’ Association Coaches Cup team tournament. That’s because Avon completed the unexpected trifecta of beating three consecutive seeded teams—twice on the road—by the scores of 3-2 each time, with latest being on Monday at top-seeded Hudson.

The victory over Hudson comes on the heels of sending five players to the district tournament that will be held later this week at the Springside Athletic Club in Akron, a huge jump for a team that only sent one individual to districts last year and also lost in the second round of the Coaches Cup.

“I didn’t think this was possible,” said third singles player Isabella Gentile after her 6-3, 6-3 victory clinched the match. “Last year our girls only made it to the second round and they got kicked out. I heard it was something that we don’t really get too far with because the other teams are really good.”

Gentile didn’t use the pronoun “we” in that statement because she wasn’t a varsity player last year. But she and all of her teammates dedicated themselves during the offseason to becoming one of those “really good” teams.

“What these girls have done in one year’s time is impossible,” said coach Eric Korey. “They were not satisfied with their games last year. They weren’t satisfied with where we finished last year in the Coaches Cup. They didn’t qualify to districts last year like they wanted to. After the season was over, we had our meetings, and then they got to work. And they worked, and they worked, and they worked.

“We have a non-traditional team. We don’t have that one girl who’s tops in Northeast Ohio. But what we do have is seven, eight, nine girls who are really good tennis players who have made this a passion in their lives. They have dedicated themselves, and they work together, they play hard together, and they fight, fight, fight until it’s over.”

Facing two of the top singles players in the district, Avon found itself behind, 2-0, when Ashley DeHaven lost at first singles and Nora Fiest fell at second. But Sam Jackson and Grace Gedeon were dominant at first doubles with a 6-3, 6-3 victory, and the second doubles team of Samantha Gault and Karina Marsden battled through a difficult three-setter, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Gentile plays a slow, steady brand of tennis in which she just keeps the ball in play, waiting until her opponent makes a mistake. Thus, her matches can take a long time. In fact, the other four matches were over before Gentile gave Avon its first final four berth in program history.

“I just told the girls, ‘Let’s break quick before I burst into tears,’ Korey said. “I’m at a loss for words, and I’m never at a loss for words.”

The process toward reaching the state semis began two years ago with a rebuild, of sorts. Since the Eagles won their eighth consecutive Southwestern Conference title a few weeks ago, it can’t be called a total rebuild, but Korey found the program in a spot where it was necessary to put some freshmen on varsity.

“Two years ago, we were in a bit of a rebuild,” Korey said. “Ashley started playing first singles as a sophomore after playing third singles the year before. Sam was a freshman starting varsity. Samantha and Karina were freshmen starting varsity. I remember thinking, ‘They’re not ready. They’re not ready, but we don’t have any high-end power.’ We don’t usually bring freshmen up to the varsity, but we broke that rule and started the rebuilding process.”

Just as it was in the victory over Strongsville, the victory over Hudson came down to the third singles match. Gentile battled back from an early deficit against Hudson in the first set and then won three of the last four games to take the second, with the winning point coming on a ball that was hit beyond the baseline.

“I’m still really stressed, just coming off of it,” she said. “It was really stressful because I saw our other two singles girls were down. I knew our doubles were doing really well, but it was really stressful, especially in the first set because I started down and then I made a comeback. On that last point, when that ball was out, it just felt so unreal to me. I was like, ‘That ball’s out. Wait … that just decided the match.’”

After the match was over, Korey spent some time reminiscing about the team’s rebuild with Brian DeHaven, Ashley’s father and the head tennis pro at the Avon Oaks Tennis Center.

“At times that year, it was ugly,” Korey said. “I just said to Brian, ‘Two years ago, would you have even guessed in a million years that we would be right here?’ It just really goes to the amount of work that these girls have dedicated and put in. They have made this a real priority. They don’t play tennis because it’s fun for them. This is a part of their lives and they embrace it.”