Columbus Academy girls tennis beats Bexley to reach sixth straight OTCA state tournament

Frank DiRenna, ThisWeek
·2 min read

The Columbus Academy girls tennis team earned a sixth consecutive trip to the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Division II state tournament by beating host Bexley 4-1 in the district final Oct. 13.

The Vikings improved to 16-1 and will play the only team they have lost to this season, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, in a state semifinal Oct. 23 at Cincinnati St. Xavier. Academy lost its season opener 3-2 to the Eagles.

The winner plays Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown, Bryan or Lima Shawnee in the state final, also Oct. 23 at St. Xavier.

“I feel like our depth for the whole year has really been a key,” said Academy coach Marc Wurtzman, whose team finished third at state last season. “We’ve worked really hard in practice and going into matches we feel confident that if one player doesn’t step up, we have enough depth that our other student-athletes will help out the team.”

The Vikings, who beat Bexley 5-0 in an MSL-Ohio Division match Aug. 25, completed the season sweep by winning two of three singles matches and both doubles matches.

Winners for the Vikings were Grace Phillip 6-2, 6-0 at second singles, Tamanna Arya 6-1, 6-1 at third singles, Yasemin Bilgin and Naomi Chen 6-3, 6-1 at first doubles and Anna Chang and Sophie Wu 6-1, 6-1 at second doubles.

Bexley’s win came at first singles as freshman Amiya Bowles beat Arya Chabria 6-1, 6-0. Bowles is among the favorites to win the Division II singles title in the OHSAA state individual tournament Oct. 21 and 22 at Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.

“(Reaching the district final) was a good accomplishment,” said Bexley coach Heath Goolsby, whose team finished 10-9. “It was one of our goals to not only participate, but advance. Beating Wellington 3-1 in a semifinal was nice because Wellington has been a difficult opponent over the years.”

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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Columbus Academy beats Bexley to advance to OTCA state tourney