State tennis: Highland girls doubles team has tall task at tournament

Lily Hantz and Claire Schlak will attempt to join a select group of Highland girls tennis players when they compete in the Division I state doubles tournament today at 9 a.m. at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.Since the Highland program was founded in 1996, seven previous doubles teams and three singles players have reached the state tournament. Only four doubles players — Sarah Sgambati and Madison Pawlak in D-I in 2022 and sisters Pennie and Jaclyn Spirtos in D-II in 2000 — have advanced beyond the first round. No Hornets singles player has won a match at state, and no doubles teams have advanced beyond the quarterfinals."I want to have a lot of fun," 17-year-old senior Schlak said. "We'll go out there and try our best. I think we could make things happen."Coming off a second-place finish at the Northeast District at Springside Athletic Club, Hantz and Schlak will play Mason sophomores Bhavana Singidi and Vanmayi Podili in the first round. Singidi reached the state doubles quarterfinals last year with a different partner, while Schlak lost in the first round with 2024 partner Ally Haynes.The Comets duo finished fourth at the Southwest District, but that's a bit misleading. Mason, the eight-time defending D-I state champ at the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Tournament, also had the first- and second-place doubles teams, as well as the district singles champion."It's definitely a little nerve-racking," said Schlak, who played second singles in the regular season. "They're a good team, but it does make me feel a little bit better (knowing Singidi and Podili are the third of three Mason teams)."At the 2024 state tournament, the Comets, who will be playing in their hometown today, had three singles state qualifiers, including the state champion. They also had two doubles teams, including the state champion. Singidi and her previous partner lost in the quarters in three sets to the team that later lost to Mason's other doubles team in the state final."Nothing will be different," said the 16-year-old Hantz, a junior who played first singles in the regular season. "We have to go out there with confidence and play our game. We have to have good communication with each other and stay confident with our shots."In Hantz and Schlak's favor is that they have continually improved their doubles play, including a number of impressive victories at the district level after winning the Solon Sectional."We have to come out playing consistently and aggressively. We have to find that balance," 23rd-year Highland coach Lisa Reynolds said. "They've seen they're capable of that high level of play. They just have to be able to channel it into that match."We know (the Comets) are going to be good. Even though they are a four seed, we know we're going to have a battle."The winner of the Highland-Mason match will play the winner of the match between Upper Arlington's Central/Southeast District championship team of seniors Dani Ball and Sylvie Lederer and Magnificat freshmen Elizabeth Ammori and Medina Township resident Adriana Guillermo, who lost to Hantz and Schlak in three sets in the Northeast District semifinals and went on to finish fourth. Ball qualified for state with a different partner last year, losing in the opening round."We've both worked really hard to get where we are," Hantz said. "We have the confidence to keep pushing forward. I don't think Claire and I will be that nervous, just because we've worked so hard to prepare.""We have to have good communication and we have to get a ton of our shots in," Schlak added. "We have to have good mindsets. The way we've been playing has been a lot better than a lot of the other teams, so if we can take that confidence into states, we'll do great."Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.