On Thursday, October 19, and Friday, October 20, the girls tennis team traveled to Mason, Ohio, for the state tournament.
In the singles bracket, freshman standout, Sydni Ratliff, didn’t drop a single game during her first two matches, easily defeating both Cincinnati Hill’s Samantha Pregel and Poland Seminary’s Marisa Ricciardi, 6-0, 6-0.
Ratliff took to the court on Friday with high hopes and continued to steamroll her competition, beating Elizabeth Fahrmeier from Cincinnati Summit Country Day in the semi-finals, 6-3, 6-1.
Later in the day, Ratliff went up against her toughest competition of the season matchup against last year’s finalist Nicole Gillinov of Hathaway Brown. With the title on the line, Ratliff played her heart out, but fell just short as Gillinov claimed the championship with 6-2, 6-4 victory.
Ratliff capped off 2017 campaign with a state runner-up title. It was one of the greatest seasons in school history by Ratliff, and she capped off her 2017 campaign with a state runner-up finish.
In the doubles bracket, the team of Tuckerman and Reddy won its first match,against Toledo Central Catholic’s pairing of Rachel Gorman and Ellie Hire, 6-1, 6-1.
In an ensuing quarterfinals’ battle, the Vikes fought for every last point, but Tuckerman and Reddy fell in a heartbreaking match to Hathaway Brown’s strong duo of Isabella Devario and Rebecca Wolf, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The Vikes travelled back to Columbus for the team bracket on Sunday, October 22, and faced Toledo Central Catholic in the semi-finals.
In first doubles, senior Georgia Tuckerman and Himaja Reddy dominated in a 6-1, 6-1 win.
To claim the overall victory, the duo of senior Lexis Hughes and freshman Lauren Motta earned a convincing win in second doubles, 6-0, 6-2.
In second singles, sophomore Alex Graham fell in straight sets, 3-6, 0-6, and junior Maddie Tuckerman suffered a similar fate, losing 1-6, 1-6.
In the deciding match, Ratliff showed her mental toughness, claiming the overall victory 7-6 6-2.
With the narrow win, the Vikings headed into the State Finals with momentum on their side.
But CA proved to be no match for three-time state champion, Hathaway Brown, who claimed the title after winning the first three courts of the match in dominating fashion.
Despite the loss, it was a great season for the state runner-up Vikes, as they were only the 6th squad in program history to reach the state finals. The losses of Tuckerman and Hughes will be tough to recover from, but CA’s wealth of young talent will soften the blow. After a successful 2017 season, it seems as if another impressive year is on the horizon.
