Mahek, Carver qualify for Division II state tennis tournament after third place at districts
PORT CLINTON — They are state-bound.
The Shelby doubles team of Annie Mahek and Bella Carver punched their tickets to the Division II state tournament with a third-place finish at the Division II district tournament. It is the first time in 14 years the Whippets will send a representative to the state tournament.
The junior duo started the tournament off with a solid 6-2, 6-2 win over Celina's Elise Muether and Isabelle Thobe to advance to the quarterfinals where they used a dramatic 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 three-set win over St. Mary Central Catholic's Gianna Pelz and Rachel Spicer to advance to the semifinals and guarantee themselves a state berth on Wednesday.
Mahek and Carver were down 4-1 in the third set of their quarterfinals before rallying for the come-from-behind victory. They used that momentum to finish third overall. After dropping their semifinal match to Lima Central Catholic's Libby Simmons and Claire Janowski 6-0, 6-3, Carver and Mahek bounced back to beat Port Clinton's Reagan Ruthsatz and Grace Arnold 6-3, 6-4 in the consolation match to give them a third-place seeding at state.
The doubles team will take on Gahanna Columbus Academy's Grace Philip and Sophie Wu in the first round of the state tournament on Thursday at the College of Wooster.
Lexington's doubles team of Malaina Wolfe and Ulo Ezike finished 1-1 on the day. They earned a victory over Lima Shawnee's Jenova DeBrosse and Brailynn Murphy 7-5, 6-2 in the opening round before falling to Ottawa Hills's Catherine Rhegness and Bryn Tangeman 6-0, 6-1 in the quarterfinals ending their tournament run.
Shelby's second doubles team of Gracie May and Zada Marquis saw their day end early with a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Ottawa-Glandorf's Maddie Schmiedebushe and Megan Welch.
In Division II singles, Lexington's Jade Adkins went 1-1 on the say winning her first match over St. Mary's Central Catholic's Kealy Kolar 6-0, 6-1 before falling to Lima Bath's Anne Oliver 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Shelby's McKenna Baker also went 1-1 on the day beating Clyde's Claire Timmons 6-3, 6-2 in the first round before being eliminated by Maumee Valley Country Day School's MariYona Shannon 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
In Division I singles, Madison's Megan Reynolds dropped her opening match to Maddie Peisley of Sylvania Southview 6-0, 6-0 bringing an end to her season.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Annie Mahek and Bella Carver will compete in the Division II state tennis tournament
