Milford freshman Amanda Reinhart is only one of two local tennis players to advance to the district tournament.

Milford freshman Amanda Reinhart is only one of two local tennis players to advance to the district tournament.
By Chris Chaney
Sun staff

Few sectional tournaments are as cutthroat and volatile as high school tennis.

Upwards of 40 individuals or pairs — depending on singles or doubles — were vying for just four spots at each sectional last week in Mason.

Of the 10 Clermont County schools sending their teams to the sectional tournament, only two individuals earned the prestigious honor of moving on to this week’s district tournament: Bethel-Tate’s Chloe Henderson and Milford’s Amanda Reinhart.

Both singles players had outstanding seasons, despite being on the opposite ends of their high school careers.

While Reinhart is in her freshman year at Milford and hopes to build upon her accomplishments going forward, Henderson is a senior and is making her last run upstate before graduation.

“Chloe has won every league match this year,” Bethel-Tate head coach Susan Morrison said. “She’s only lost one match out of everything we’ve played. She was named the Player of the Year in (the Southern Buckeye Conference National Division) and has been a captain.

“Everyone on our team is rallying around her and wishing her the best.”

Henderson advanced through the Division II gauntlet that saw her face tennis powerhouse schools such as Cincinnati Country Day, McNicholas, Madeira and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy.

Needing to win three matches during the first day of sectional play, Wednesday, Oct. 1, Henderson went a perfect 3-0 to solidify her spot in the district. Not only did she go undefeated, she didn’t drop a set.

“Chloe was the fourth seed, so she had a tough lineup,” Morrison said. “On Friday, she had to play the top seed from Cincinnati Country Day (in the semifinals) and she lost, but she won her third-place match.”

Morrison said she and Henderson spoke about the importance of the third-place match, emphasizing that even though she was on to the district already, a win in her final match would make her road to the state tournament that much easier.

The senior heeded her coach’s advice and edged out CHCA’s Brooke Kelly 7-5, 6-2.

In Division I, Milford’s Reinhart also experienced a solid regular season that gave her confidence heading into the sectional. Notching a record of 13-4 overall and 5-1 in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference, Reinhart was second only to Walnut Hills’ Lilly O’Toole — also a district qualifier — in win percentage.

Like Henderson, Reinhart was the No. 4 seed and went through the first day of sectional tournament play relatively easily, winning three matches all in straight sets to guarantee her a spot at the district tournament.

On Friday, Oct. 3, Reinhart played Sycamore’s Alexa Abele, the No. 1 seed, and fell to the third-place match. Reinhart met familiar foe O’Toole there and fell to the ECC’s top singles player. Still, Reinhart had earned her keep and advances to Oct. 9’s district tournament.

Both Reinhart and Henderson will serve it up on Thursday, Oct. 9 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason. The first matches will begin at 9 a.m. Full brackets are available on swdab.org.