H.S. Tennis: Amherst, Avon have big days at LCAAA tourney

AVON — A little rain wasn't about to spoil the day for Amherst and Avon. The Eagles flexed their depth while the Comets won the top draw at the Lorain County Athletic Administrators Association girls tennis tournament Saturday, which was delayed twice by rainy conditions. Like the boys in the spring, the LCAAA switched to a doubles tournament with each program fielding four doubles teams and Avon sending both its Varsity A and Varsity B teams. The nine programs were split into three preliminary groups Thursday, then reshuffled into three final groups Saturday based on standing. Every team got to play four total matches. To accommodate so many matches, the tournament played fast fours instead of full sets, used a 10-point match breaker in place of a third set and utilized no ad-scoring — meaning any game tied at 40 would play one decisive point with the returning team deciding which side of the court the server would use. Avon's Varsity A squad took first in three flights — Samantha Gault and Grace Gedeon at second doubles, Nora Fiest and Karina Marsden at third doubles and Isabella Gentile and Brooke Heinrich at fourth doubles. Seven of the eight Avon teams qualified for the top group at their respective flight, with the Avon B first doubles team being placed in the middle group after a second-place preliminary showing. Varsity B finished second at second and fourth doubles and third at third doubles. "I'm so excited for our Varsity B team," Avon coach Eric Korey said. "I've been talking about how good these girls are for weeks now and this was a chance for them to really come out and showcase their talents and, boy, did they ever today. I'm so proud of the way the played today. They played so hard, they were focused, they fought back. They were down in some matches today." Amherst spoiled Avon's clean sweep by defeating the Eagles for the first doubles title in a match that featured four of the top players in Lorain County. Sophomores Katelyn Bussard and Sienna Nagy defeated Avon's Ashley DeHaven, a senior, and junior Sam Jackson 4-1, 4-0 in what was the de facto championship match after both teams had defeated Avon Lake. The Comets beat the Shoregals duo of Kathleen Boatwright and Lyla Head 4-2, 4-2, while Avon beat Avon Lake 4-0, 3-4 (10-8). All six players in the first doubles final group are their team's Nos. 1 and 2 singles players, with DeHaven, Boatwright and Nagy returning district qualifiers. "We played really good," said Bussard, who competed in the spring with the boys as a freshman, finishing second at the LCAAA first doubles draw and the Southwestern Conference's first singles draw. "It was fun to play doubles together. It's totally different than singles, so it was fun." Against Avon, the Amherst duo took advantage of early double faults to open up a break at 1-0. The Eagles secured their only hold, and game, to cut Amherst's lead to 2-1, but Nagy held and the Comets broke to secure the first set. Amherst again went up 2-0 in the second set, but the final two games came down to an ad-point with the Comets taking both. Bussard and Nagy also teamed up earlier in the year to win the first doubles flight at the Norwalk doubles tournament. "We had great communication," Nagy said. "Just where to play the ball and where to expect it to come. I'd hit my ball wide to give her the ball to smack it and make it a winner. It feels really good to bring home the title." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.