New Albany girls tennis edges Dublin Coffman for OTCA Division I district title
On a windswept day that might have felt more like late November than mid-October, the New Albany girls tennis team made program history by sticking to its plan.
With the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Division I district final Oct. 15 coming down to the first-singles matchup between the Eagles’ Richardlyne Francois and host Dublin Coffman’s Pritika Ghosh Choudhuri, Francois zeroed in on the basics to capture a 6-2, 6-0 win and the Eagles’ first district title in 16 years.
“I was worried about the wind but it was windy for both of us, so I had to use it to my advantage and slice well, hit the ball well and move my feet a lot,” Francois said. “Everyone is extremely excited. We know how important this is. I’m glad we get to experience this.”
New Albany, which improved to 18-2 and will play Mason in a state semifinal Oct. 23 at Cincinnati St. Xavier, is making its first state tournament appearance since 2006, when it was in Division II, and first in Division I.
Winds gusted to almost 20 mph throughout the match, further chilling an air temperature that hovered in the high 40s — almost 20 degrees below normal.
The Eagles’ other wins came on the doubles courts by 6-1, 6-1 scores.
Airi Clements and Paige Cornelius swept Bethel Binyam and Emily Yoshino at first doubles, and the second-doubles team of Emily Noonan and Demi Shostak beat Coffman’s Abbey Kashani-Motlagh and Rachanna Senthil.
Clements and Cornelius typically played singles during the regular season, although Cornelius and Francois teamed for doubles for the second consecutive individual postseason. They finished second at district and will play at state Oct. 21 and 22 at Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.
“We changed things up a little bit just to give ourselves a lineup we were comfortable with and we thought that would put us in good shape to the point that no matter what lineup they ran, we would at least have an opportunity to win,” New Albany coach Marc Thomas said. “To our credit, I think we played one of our best matches of the season.”
Coffman got wins at second singles, where Dasha Chistyakova beat Katia Jacoby 6-0, 6-2, and third singles, where Lauren Burkett beat Madeleine Naumoff 6-2, 6-2.
“It was Richie’s day today and Pritika was a little bit off,” said Shamrocks coach Brett Hundertpfund, whose team finished its dual-match schedule at 13-3. “These were tough conditions and (Francois) played smart. She kept a lot of balls in play and used her spin well.”
North Canton Hoover and Whitehouse Anthony Wayne will play in the other OTCA state semifinal. The winners and losers meet in the first- and third-place matches later Oct. 23.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: New Albany girls tennis beats Dublin Coffman for district title
