Bexley’s Bowles and Orange’s Reed among qualifiers for state
State berths were on the line in the Division I and Division II girls tennis district tournaments Wednesday.
In Division I singles at Upper Arlington, Dublin Coffman’s Lauren Burkett and Pritika Ghosh Choudhuri, Olentangy Berlin’s Soleil Cordell and Olentangy Orange’s Avery Reed advanced to Saturday’s district semifinals, securing them a trip to state.
In Division II singles at Columbus Academy, defending state champion Amiya Bowles of Bexley advanced to Saturday’s district final, locking up a return trip to state.
The top four finishers in singles and doubles in Division I and the top two in singles and doubles in Division II earned berths to state Oct. 19 and 20 at the College of Wooster.
Bowles, a sophomore, has not lost a game at sectional or district in her two seasons.
“She’s locked in,” Bexley coach Heath Goolsby said. “She’s peaking at the right time because she didn’t play nearly as many matches this season as she did last year.”
Bowles coasted to 6-0, 6-0 wins over Bloom-carroll teammates Marlene Gimsa and Emily Bratton and will play Academy’s Tamanna Arya in the district final.
Arya, who will play in her first state tournament, advanced to the district final with wins over Bexley’s Mia Ehrsam (6-3, 6-0) and Eastmoor Academy’s Daniyah Dingess (6-0, 6-1).
Academy teammates will square off in the doubles final as Arya Chabria and Yasemin Bilgin will play Grace Philip and Sophie Wu.
Orange’s Reed, a junior, is following in the footsteps of her mother and sisters by earning her first state berth.
Her mother, Kristin, a 1990 graduate of Worthington, was the Class AAA state singles champion in 1987 and runner-up in 1988 and 1989. Her sisters, Kortney and Tyler, are Orange graduates who competed at state.
Reed will play Burkett in a district semifinal, with the winner playing Cordell or Ghosh Choudhuri in the final later Saturday.
In doubles, Dublin Jerome’s Lydia
Foster and Adayla Coakley will play New Albany’s Paige Cornelius and Richardlyne Francois in one semifinal, with Worthington Kilbourne’s Libby Alderman and Tyra Butler opposing UA sisters Isabella and Alexa Roth in the other.