Girls tennis: Oakwood No. 5 in D-II state rankings

The goals remain the same for Oakwood High School girls tennis coach Kim Gilbert: win the Southwestern Buckeye League, be one of the top teams in the area and fly under the radar.

The Jills have a chance to accomplish two of those goals. As for the third? Entering the season ranked No. 5 in the state by OhioTennisZone.com makes it tough for teams to overlook the Jills.

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Oakwood returns its top seven players from last season’s impressive effort that saw all seven qualify for the Division II district tournament. As far as Gilbert can remember that’s never happened in 16 seasons of coaching.

Junior Lily McCloskey won the district title after a strong season at No. 1 singles. She beat junior teammate Sarah Hall in an all-Oakwood district final. No. 3 singles player and junior Katie Ritschel upset the No. 4 seed in the first round to reach the semifinals.

“Lily is by far one of the most solid singles players I’ve seen. Her agility is remarkable,” Gilbert said. “Lily and Sarah go head-to-head many times. I think Lily may stand out because of her experience, but Sarah can give her a run for her money. Sarah has her own strengths and they are a solid 1-2.”

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Juniors Sophia Russell and Natalie Connelly won the doubles district title in another all-Jills final over seniors Sidney Purks and Sophie Schnell.

“We have a group of girls who all seven have played varsity as freshmen. We’re very fortunate we have several juniors that have another year,” Gilbert said.

“I love these girls. They are such a nice group. They take care of each other and they work well together. As the cliché goes there is no I in team and they epitomize that. They make my job easier.”

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Oakwood’s momentum hasn’t slowed from last season. The Jills won the eight-team Pickerington Doubles Invitational on Saturday by sweeping all four doubles championships. Oakwood won the team title with 32 points to runner-up Pickerington Central’s 25.

McCloskey and Hall won at first doubles, Connelly and Russell at No. 2, Schnell and Purks at No. 3 and Ritschel and freshman Claudia Schnell at No. 4.

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Cincinnati Ursuline Academy (ranked No. 7 in D-I) and Cincinnati Seven Hills (No. 9 in D-II) also competed in a stout field that included Lakota East, Perrysburg, Toledo St. Ursula and Walsh Jesuit.

The always tough Southwest District has six teams ranked among the top 10 in the state in D-II with Cincinnati Indian Hill at No. 1, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy at No. 2, Oakwood at No. 5, Alter at No. 7, Seven Hills at No. 9 and Eaton at No. 10.

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Gilbert knows that gauntlet of talent won’t be easy to navigate. But, as she tells the Jills, if 15-year-old Cori “CoCo” Gauff can upset Venus Williams at Wimbledon – becoming the youngest player to win a main draw singles match since 1991 – then why can’t the Jills make history, too?

“You need to go into every match thinking you can win this match regardless or your ranking or your school,” Gilbert said. “If you can get over that mental obstacle the match can go any way. We try to stay under the radar and play our hearts out. Do the job we need to do and play as a team.”

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10 PLAYERS TO WATCH

Julia Bays, sr., Beavercreek

Mary Kate Bussert, so., Miamisburg

Patty Estrada-Sanchez, jr., Chaminade Julienne

Sydney Khosla, sr., Centerville

Grace Lampman, so., Alter

Katelyn Mazurek, sr., Springboro

Lily McCloskey, jr., Oakwood