While Tess Bucher wraps up nationals, Hoover reacts to No. 1 girls tennis state ranking

It's impossible to ignore getting ranked No. 1 in Ohio.

Naturally, it came up in a team meeting. Hoover High School girls tennis coach Ryan Shaffer began by fighting hyperbole with hyperbole.

"I told our girls we no more deserve to be No. 1 than the man in the moon," Shaffer said.

The No. 1 ranking in Division I, heading into the season that starts this week, was assigned by Ohio Tennis Zone. The top three, in order, are Hoover, New Albany and Mason.

Scott Gerber of Ohio Tennis Zone, a media hub for coaches, has final say on the rankings.

"Scott told me justification for making us No. 1," Shaffer said. "He said we play teams from all around Ohio, we were 26-1 against last year's tough schedule, and we have four top players back.

"It's humbling to be mentioned there, but it's like I told my girls, 'That ranking was earned by last year's team.' We lost three state qualifiers."

Hoover returns two state qualifiers — senior co-captains Tess Bucher, state singles runner-up in 2022, and Bridget Fink.

This week, Bucher has been competing in the USTA Billie Jean King National Championships, in San Diego. It's up in the air as to when she can fly back and jump into Hoover's budding season.

"The big difference with Tess is how much fitter she's gotten," Shaffer said. "She's much stronger. Some of that comes with the grind of competition she plays."

Hoover starts the season as Ohio Tennis Zone's No. 1 after finishing last season at No. 2.

The Vikings lost three 2023 seniors — Claire Wood, Angelina Koinoglou and Cecilia Holben — who reached the 2022 state tournament in doubles. Fink returns after playing in state doubles with Holben.

Back as sophomores are Addison Sheil and Ema Papcke, both district singles qualifiers as freshmen. Senior Nyla Spangler will fortify doubles.

"Nyla played No. 1 singles on our B team," Shaffer said. "I told her, in any other four-year cycle she would have been on our varsity all four years. It's just, the last three or four years, we've been pretty good."

Hoover has been a top-five regular in the Ohio Tennis Zone.

The Vikings dive into this season with matches at Lexington and Olentangy, both on Friday.

On Aug. 26, No. 1 Hoover will play at No. 2 New Albany.

In Division II, Ohio Tennis Zone ranks Seven Hills, Orange and Cincinnati Indian Hill as its top three.This is an excerpt from an Ohio Tennis Zone article on the rankings:

"Division II is more difficult to rank because D2 teams do not travel as much as D1 teams. This means that it is difficult to compare teams from the various districts. Hoover will likely play teams in the Central, Southwest, and Northwest districts. Hoover basically becomes a Rosetta Stone to compare teams throughout the entire state."

Hoover has dominated Stark County girls tennis lately but maintains a fierce rivalry with Jackson.Jackson has a new coach, Brett Marlowe, after nine seasons under Jennifer Janson. Louie Thomas, coach of the powerful Jackson boys program, is assisting Marlowe, who had been a Jackson assistant.

The Polar Bears move on without 2022 star seniors Paige Reese and Madison Altman, who, as doubles partners, won three matches in the state tournament en route to third place.

Jackson's other state doubles team last year was Addyson Utterback, now a senior, and Divya Shanmugam, since graduated.

Hoover has never been ranked No. 1 in a state girls tennis poll. Shaffer, who coached No. 1-ranked teams at St. Thomas Aquinas, prefers to be "the chaser" rather than a favorite with a target on the back.

"I'm proud of the program, that people thought enough of us to give us that honor," Shaffer said. "At the same time, everything is earned. We haven't earned anything yet."

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Tess Bucher, Hoover ranked No. 1 in Ohio by Ohio Tennis Zone