Eaton tennis finishes 4th overall in SWBL

HUBER HEIGHTS — Eaton tennis took fourth place in the Southwestern Buckeye League’s Southwestern Division tournament held at Thomas Cloud Park in Huber Heights on Thursday, Sept. 24.

The Eagles headed into the tournament in third place, leading Brookville by just three points.

“We had a good day, but unfortunately we needed to have a great day if we wanted to hold on to third place,” said head coach John Hitchcock. “That would have been a tremendous accomplishment for this team and really the icing on the cake for the great season we’ve had to date. However it did not work out that way.”

Eaton earned 14 points on the day but Brookville came to play and scored 19, edging the Eagles out of the three-spot by just two points.

In the first singles matchup, Eaton’s Tess Flynn, battling a severe foot injury, won her first round match over Monroe, edging out her opponent in two sets (6-0, 6-2). Her next round was against a tough Oakwood opponent, and Flynn lost in two sets. She then moved on to play Brookville for third place, losing 4-6 and 2-6.

Flynn ended the year with second team All-SWBL honors.

At second singles, Rebecca Wolf played three sets in all three of her matches.

Wolf lost her first round match to Franklin 6-2, 2-6, 4-6. She then turned around and beat Valley View 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. Wolf then faced off against Monroe for fifth place, winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.

In third singles Maria Kern started her day off against Oakwood, losing 2-6, 0-6. She was able to win her next two matches handedly, beating Monroe (6-0, 6-1) and Franklin (6-0, 6-1) to earn fifth place honors.

On the doubles side, the number one doubles team of Kyra Houle and Honoka Sato beat Valley View 6-3, 6-3 in the first round, winning a matchup against number one Oakwood.

They ended up losing, but not after a hard fought battle in the second set – falling 3-6, 5-7.

That loss meant they had to face Brookville for third place. After a hard fought match, they came up short and lost in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6.

The doubles duo earned an honorable mention nod in the SWBL.

The Eagles’ best finish of the day came from sophomores Barbara-Ann Grant and Mariah Brewer, who took home third place in number two doubles.

They did so by winning their first round matchup over Monroe (6-1, 6-2) but had to face a tough Oakwood team in the semi-finals, where they lost 3-6, 3-6.

In the third place match, the teammates upended Valley View 6-4, 6-2 to take home some hardware.

With one match to play in the season, the second doubles team has a season’s best 19-5 record – including tournament and invites.

“They have been a pleasant surprise,” said head coach John Hitchcock.

Overall it was a successful season for the Eagles, who finished with a winning record in the league and on the season.

“In this side of the SWBL, fourth is a very respectable finish and you had to tip your hat to Brookville for taking care of business,” said Hitchcock. “They got the job done and we didn’t. Hopefully we can be this competitive next season.”

Eaton was scheduled to play Edgewood on Monday, Sept. 28.

Eaton’s Barbara-Ann Grant returns the ball during one of her tournament games at the SWBL tournament held at Thomas Cloud Park in Huber Heights on Thursday, Sept. 24. Grant played number two doubles with Mariah Brewer, and the two took home third place on the day. The Eagles finished fourth overall in the SWBL for the season.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2015/09/web1_Eaton-Tennis-Tourney-143-.jpgEaton’s Barbara-Ann Grant returns the ball during one of her tournament games at the SWBL tournament held at Thomas Cloud Park in Huber Heights on Thursday, Sept. 24. Grant played number two doubles with Mariah Brewer, and the two took home third place on the day. The Eagles finished fourth overall in the SWBL for the season. Austin Schmidt | The Register-Herald

By Jeremy Erskine

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