Sun staff
The Division II Cincinnati tennis sectional draw at the Lindner Family Tennis Center made it hard for Clermont County schools to advance to Thursday, Oct. 11’s district tournament as many of the Clermont teams were paired up to play one another.
Through the first two rounds of singles play, there were seven matches that pitted one Clermont County school versus another, which would essentially knock seven individuals out of the running at the expense of a fellow Southern Buckeye Conference school.
Batavia’s Mary Ostingy was the only athlete who was able to successfully navigate herself through to the district tournament, although she did have to take out Goshen’s Jenna Staehling in the first round to do so.
Ostingy defeated Staehling 6-3, 6-1 before moving on to the second round where she faced Mariemont’s Jasmine Slavik. Again, Ostingy advanced in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1.
Needing to get to the semifinals to guarantee herself a spot in the Oct. 11 district tournament, Ostingy defeated Summit Country Day’s Alex Bissantz 7-5, 6-4.
Ostingy would lose to Seven Hills’ Allie Baretta in the semifinals and again to Mariemont’s Carolin Zack in the third place match, but she had done enough to secure her place in the districts.
Bethel-Tate’s Claire Shaljo, given the three seed, bowed out of the tournament in the second round, losing to Mariemont’s Zack in a heartbreaker, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).
Other singles players who made it to the second round before losing were Felicity’s Heather Tatman and Bethel-Tate’s MacKenzie Rinehart.
In the doubles tournament, there were five more cases of Clermont County teams knocking one another out. Doubles teams from New Richmond, Felicity, Batavia and CNE all lost to fellow SBC schools.
Despite all of the Clermont County teams in the tournament, only one team, New Richmond’s Sarah Jones and Alex White were able to advance into the quarterfinals.
Jones and White defeated Batavia’s pair of Knudsen and Northrup 6-0, 6-1 and then beat Goshen’s doubles team of Steffen and Brown in the second round.
With their chance to qualify for districts, the Lady Lions fell to Summit Country Day’s pair of Bosse and Bissantz, ending the pairs hopes of making it to Centerville High School later this week.
Ostingy will be the lone representative of Clermont County in the district tournament at any level. In Division I, no Clermont County team made it past the second round, with the Milford duo of Haleigh and Jade Brown falling to Turpin in straight sets.
Ostingy will play at Centerville High School beginning on Oct. 11 against Danielle Wolf of Cincinnati Country Day. Wolf won her sectional at Mason High School.
Without any other Clermont County schools to go up against, the county’s hopes of garnering a state qualifier rest with the senior Ostingy.