Perrysburg’s Erin Ross extends to play a volley in Wednesday’s second doubles NLL Buckeye Division Championship match against Anthony Wayne. (Nicholas Huenefeld | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
PERRYSBURG — Erin Ross and Ava Geffe secured a runner-up finish in second doubles of the Buckeye Division to help the Perrysburg girls tennis team wrap up the Northern Lakes League Championship in second place on Wednesday at the Perrysburg Tennis Center.
Anthony Wayne’s Harper Clifton and KaiYing Kuskirk were too much for Perrysburg, producing a 6-2, 6-1 win over Ross and Geffe on the indoor courts.
“That was the best I’ve seen (Anthony Wayne) play this year,” Perrysburg coach Kelly Carter said. “They’re seniors, and they’ve been playing together for years.”
Conversely, Perrysburg’s tandem is in their first season together.
“Ava, a sophomore, was on JV last year,” Carter said. “She’s worked so hard this offseason. She’s not used to these big matches in front of the big crowds and stuff like that, but they both did great, and they were playing well. It’s just that Anthony Wayne had an answer for everything.”
Meanwhile, Perrysburg also had another strong doubles finish on Tuesday as the first singles tandem of Autumn Wittenmyer and Campbell Looser won the consolation bracket title in 6-2, 6-0 fashion over Toledo Whitmer.
Carter was impressed with the ability of her first singles squad in overcoming a tough loss in their opening match against Northview, where they won the first set 6-1 before falling in a tiebreaker the second set and 6-4 in the final frame.
“I thought they played well, but it was a disappointing loss for them,” Carter said. “What was great is that they came back and played great the next two matches, and won them both. They played awesome. They didn’t let that first one get them down.”
In total, Perrysburg finished with 39 points behind NLL champion Anthony Wayne’s 44. Northview (34), Whitmer (25) and Findlay (18) rounded out the standings in the Buckeye Division.
“I’ve been so proud of them, especially with the way they conduct themselves,” Carter said. “They’re positive, they’re good sports, and they represent us well. They all played really hard. With two new doubles teams and a sophomore new to varsity playing third singles, they just grew stronger as the season went on and exceeded our expectations.”
