The Lancaster High School girls tennis team placed second in the Ohio Capital Conference – Buckeye Division. Two players, senior Kaylee Akers and sophomore Kenzie White earned first team all OCC honors. The team also won both the Lancaster Invitational and the Watkins Memorial Invitational. Head coach Gary Elick said that there were other highlights during the season, as well such as the team accomplishing a nine-game winning streak and winning ten of their last eleven matches.
“All of our varsity players stood out at one time or another or stepped forward to win a match for us. Our 2nd doubles team of Vivian Worthington and Addy Brown were second team all OCC, and our 1st singles player Kynlee Baer and our first doubles team of Brinkley Conklin and Tori Wellington were third team All-OCC,” explained Elick.
LHS senior Adriana Potts said the highlight of her season was experiencing growth.
“My highlights of my season consisted of a lot of improvement and dedication”
LHS senior Kynlee Baer said that for her, a highlight was teaming up with senior Kaylee Akers in an important tournament.
“ We were up against Watkins Memorial and were down 3-7 (we were playing first to 8). We ended up coming back and winning the match 8-7,” she said.
LHS senior Addison Brown said that Senior Night for her was definitely the highlight of the season.
“We played Bloom Carroll and won both sets. A lot of friends and family came to support me. After our match, all the seniors got recognized and were given flowers. It was emotional seeing my senior tennis season come to a close but I couldn’t ask for a better team,” she said.
During the season, the tennis team experienced some challenges.
“Our challenge was playing consistently in both of our double spots. A lot of that was due to trying to find the right combination of players at doubles,” said Coach Elick.
Baer said that maintaining her emotions was sometimes difficult for the athletes.
“The most challenging thing for my team this year was staying calm. It is hard getting in your head during tennis, especially because tennis is mostly a mental game. It cost us a few matches when it was close and came down to the last court because the girls got too nervous,” said Baer.
Next year will be challenging for the team because they will be losing several seniors who are graduating this year.
“We are losing seven seniors which is over half of our varsity. My hope is that we can still be competitive in our division of the OCC and that girls who played on the junior varsity this year will take the initiative between now and next season and become better players by taking lessons and participating in clinics,” said Elick.
Some seniors said that they will miss the close relationships they have formed with their teammates.
“I will miss the friendships I’ve made, and being able to play alongside my teammates. I will also miss being around my coaches and learning from them,” said Potts.
“I will miss my teammates the most because we were such a great group of girls who worked so well together, as I’ve said before. But I will also miss my coach. He has had such a good impact on my life on the court and off of the court. The last thing I will miss the most is the feeling of winning a tough match. This is the best feeling that only an athlete will understand,” said Baer.
“Tennis was always something to look forward to. Every summer I knew I had the tennis camps to look forward to, and then in August the season would start. The tennis season always seems to fly by but there’s always so much packed into that short amount of time,” said Brown,
“I will miss that feeling of there being a next season because this was my last. But playing the last four years has given me so much joy and I want to continue to play in the future. It’s a bittersweet feeling but one I will always remember,” she said.
