By Cort Reynolds
LIMA - The Ada tennis team competed hard at the Div. II sectional tournament hosted by UNOH Thursday.
No Bulldogs advanced to the second day of semifinal competition Saturday despite a good run by the top doubles tandem.
After doing very well in singles competition all season, senior Miranda Wills and junior southpaw Dexter Woods III combined forces to play in the 23-team doubles tournament.
Seeded third, the Bulldog pairing received a first round bye into the round of 16. In their first match, the Ada duo defeated Hayden Bader and Ali Braglia of LCC 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals.
"Miranda and Dexter won their first round match against an LCC team that in an earlier round defeated the WBL second doubles champions," Ada head coach Dexter Woods noted.
But in the round of eight, the Bulldog tandem lost a tough three-set battle to freshman brothers Ezra and Daniel Bolon of Bath 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-2.
"In the quarterfinals they went up against the first and second singles players from Lima Bath," said Woods. "It was expected to be a close match as the singles matches between Miranda and Dexter and the Lima Bath players during the regular season were close.
"It was a tough draw for third-seeded Ada as, inexplicably, the Bath team was rated lower than the fourth-seeded Shawnee team," he continued.
"Both teams played high-quality tennis in a very entertaining, back-and-forth match. Bath won in three sets and should do well the rest of the tournament," he added.
Had they beaten the Bolon brothers, the team of Wills and Woods would have advanced to the semifinals and qualified for the district event next week.
The top-seeded doubles team, Carter and Colin Welch of Ottawa-Glandorf, cruised to the semifinals and will face the Bolon brothers next.
Ada sophomores Amelia Alexander and Brendan Jameson also played together in the doubles tournament. The Bulldog duo faced the Kenton tandem of Seth Manns and Michell Stephens in the round of 32.
The Ada team lost 6-3, 6-2.
"Brendan and Amelia were not able to overcome the consistent lobs and net play of their opponents," said Woods.
Manns and Stephens were then swept in the ensuing round of 16 by Enrico Pittalis and Aaron Simmons of LCC.
"All three Ada singles players had previously played doubles during the season, but they each made good showings in singles," said Woods.
Bulldog sophomore Geddes Klingler faced Caiden Bush of Bath in the first round of the 35-player singles tournament.
Bush defeated Klingler 6-2, 6-1 but was ousted by third seed Joey Vanderhorst of St. Marys 6-0, 6-0 in the round of 32.
"Geddes played well, returning many balls until running out of steam in the second set," noted Woods.
Ada senior Cole Anspaugh lost to Bluffton's Thad Mittendorf 6-1, 6-3 in their round of 32 match. Fourth seed Eli Schmenk then defeated Mittendorf 6-0, 6-0 in the round of 16.
"Cole played consistent singles for long stretches and implemented some thoughtful play in moving his opponent up and back," Woods reported.
Bulldog senior Colton Biederman fell to Kenton's Rylee Messenger 6-0, 6-1 in the round of 32. Messenger was then knocked out in the round of 16 by Mason Stahl 6-0, 6-0.
"Colton, during the latter stages of his match, added a new wrinkle to his new singles game by constantly pressuring - with good success - his opponent with approach shots, serves and volleys," said the coach.
Ada finished the season with an 8-7 dual match record.
