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CENTERVILLE — Eaton’s girls tennis team finished third in its first doubles tournament.

The event was hosted by Centerville on Saturday, Sept. 22. The schools involved included Beavercreek B, Centerville B, Eaton, Preble Shawnee, and Springboro B.

The format was round robin format featured three team from each school.

Eaton’s first doubles team consisted of Addie Bell and Brianna Ward. The second doubles team consisted of Anna Kramer and Erika Wilkinson and the third doubles team consisted of Samantha Gramaglia and Isabella Gaydosh-Bruce.

“It was a fun event and a good experience for the kids who got to play. We were missing some varsity girls this weekend so that opened the door for girls who normally would not have had the chance to play,” Eaton coach John Hitchcock said.

Eaton faired well against Springboro and Beavercreek winning 5 of 6 sets.

The team was challenged with Centerville and Preble Shawnee only winning 1 of 6 courts.

“Fortunately the win was 2nd doubles which earned trophies for Anna Kramer and Erika Wilkinson for 2nd place,” Hitchcock said.

Eaton as a team finished 3rd with 6 points. Preble Shawnee placed 2nd with 9 points and Centerville Black won 1st place with 11 points.

Earlier in the week, Eaton defeated Preble Shawnee 3-2.

Eaton swept all three singles matches to secure the win.

“We knew going in that doubles matches were going to be extremely challenging,” Hitchcock said. “Addie and Brianna had the toughest loss of the afternoon. It was an extremely even match and at the end we had multiple match points but unforced errors along with big plays from their opponents kept them from getting the win. And when it got to the tiebreaker, Shawnee was able to run away with.

“At 2nd doubles, Anna and Erika had been having some great success but Shawnee came out with a new pairing than what they normally have. And simply put, it worked,” Hitchcock said. “Our girls competed hard and Shawnee was able to capitalize on our mistakes. I think our girls see why we try to do certain things in doubles. Shawnee did those things better than us today. Hopefully our girls can draw on that experience down the road.”

At singles, the Murphy sisters were all able to pick up wins to give Eaton the nod.

“Sophia had a very challenging match. After winning the 1st she trailed the entire 2nd set up until it was 4-5. Thankfully she really buckled down and focused on her shots and pulled out three straight games,” Hitchcock said. “Grace and Tess had to work but they managed to get through their matches.”

As the season winds down the Eagles are 10-2 with CJ and Centerville Black still left to play. The Eagles are also starting to focus on their league tournament (Sept. 26) and then sectionals next week.

Results:

1st singles — Sophia Murphy won over Allison Zornes 6-2, 7-5.

2nd singles — Grace Murphy won over Destiney Quillen 6-0, 6-2

3rd singles — Tess Murphy won over Brittney Quillen 6-1, 6-1

1st doubles — Addie Bell and Brianna Ward lost to Lauren Smith and Grace Deaton 6-2, 3-6, 6-7(1)

2nd doubles — Anna Kramer and Erika Wilkinson lost to Zoey Collins and Michelle Bulach 4-6, 3-6.

On Wednesday, Eaton defeated Valley View 5-0.

“The girls went into the match with only one league loss and they were able to keep it that way. Most of the matches were pretty straight forward in favor of (us),” Hitchcock said. “The first doubles team had to shake off some mental mistakes and a Valley View team who came ready to play.”

With the win, Eaton improved to a 9-2 overall record and a best-ever league record of 5-1.

Results:

1st singles — Sophia Murphy won over Lilly Holbrook 6-0, 6-1

2nd singles — Grace Murphy won over Elaine Benton 6-0, 6-1

3rd singles — Tess Murphy won over Kayla Weaver 6-0, 6-0

1st doubles — Addie Bell and Brianna Ward won over Mika Rosenberry and Chelsi Rhoades 6-3, 6-3.

2nd doubles — Anna Kramer and Erika Wilkinson won over Abby Caskey and Caley Shane 6-1, 6-1.

On Tuesday, Eaton knocked off Milton-Union 3-2.

“Going into Tuesday’s match with Milton Union, (we) knew it was going to be a strongly contested match. Earlier in the season, at the Schroeder Invitational, the sisters Murphy had very tough matches with all three of Milton’s singles players,” Hitchcock said. “Grace was the only one to get the win that day but she really had to push herself to get it. Tuesday was no different as she had the most grueling match. She went three sets for about two and half hours but did not get the win. She definitely took the girl out of her normal game and made her play completely defensive but in the end it worked to her advantage. I commend Grace for her effort especially because she was down 0-4 in the 3rd set and fought all the way back to 4 all. At 3rd singles Tess Murphy’s opponent was last year’s first singles player which reflects how strong a team Milton is currently. Tess played very well but her opponent was on her game and had an answer for everything Tess did. In another dog fight match, Sophia played a long drawn out two sets that saw her get the 3rd and deciding court. She raced out to a big league then had to hold off a fierce charge from her opponent. And in the second set she trailed the entire way but eventually got it to 6-6 to force the tiebreaker. Even in the tiebreaker her opponent saved 3 match points before Sophia finally closed it out.”

Hitchcock said Milton had the advantage on paper.

“This was a true team win today because it would not have happened at all without strong play from our doubles teams. We knew they kind of held the advantage on paper but you still have to go out play the match.Any given day you can lose,” Hitchcock said. “So Sophia’s match would have not been as dramatic had Addie and Brianna at 1st doubles and Anna and Erika at 2nd doubles lost their matches. The doubles teams have been playing well and will need to continue to do so as the team starts down the home stretch of their season.”

Results:

1st singles — Sophia Murphy won over Meredith Fitch 6-4, 7-6(4)

2nd singles — Grace Murphy lost to Taylor Falb 4-6, 6-2, 4-6.

3rd singles — Tess Murphy lost to Hannah Fugate 3-6, 4-6.

1st doubles — Addie Bell and Brianna Ward won over Emma Lehman and Madison Silveira 6-1, 6-1.

2nd doubles — Anna Kramer and Erika Wilkinson won over Paige Barnes and Amelia Black 6-0, 6-2.

Eaton was scheduled to play Chaminade Julienne on Monday, Sept. 24 and compete in the SWBL tournament on Wednesday at Thomas Cloud Park. The Eagles will close out the regular season at Centerville on Thursday.

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