Milford's Amanda Reinhart placed second in the sectional tournament and will compete at districts on Thursday, Oct. 13 beginning at 9 a.m.

Milford's Amanda Reinhart placed second in the sectional tournament and will compete at districts on Thursday, Oct. 13 beginning at 9 a.m.

By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor

When the dust settled on the girls’ sectional tournament last week, two local schools found themselves with representatives heading to the district tournament.

In Division I singles play, Milford’s Amanda Reinhart placed second in the sectional tournament, earning a 6-0, 6-0 win over Wilmington’s Brooklyn Nielson to start her day. She then defeated Walnut Hills sophomore Jalyn Hall 6-1, 6-0 in her second match. In her third contest, the junior defeated Sycamore sophomore Amanda Wilson 6-0, 6-0 before facing her first challenge of the tournament.

Reinhart won the first set over Mason’s Anaya Aggarwal 6-2 but dropped the second 2-6. She then rallied for a 6-1 win in the third and deciding set to advance to the championship against Turpin sophomore Caitlin Fisher. Fisher defeated Reinhart 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to win the sectional.

The only other local to win their first-round sectional match was Amelia junior Molly Stockton. Stockton defeated Western Brown’s Kasi Boyd in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0 before falling to Mason freshman Sanjana Reddy 6-0, 6-0. Stockton had defeated Glen Este’s Emily Robinson 6-0, 6-0 prior to her match with Boyd.

In doubles play, Amelia’s duo of junior Mackenzie Clark and sophomore Taylor Hogsed lost their first match to Milford senior Claire LaFrance and freshman Emme Thomas. The Lady Eagles then fell to Loveland freshman Anna Svitkovich and junior Andrea Wittekind in their next match.

Division II saw a New Richmond Lady Lions duo advance in doubles play. Krista Reid and Taylor Cardarelli started with a bye, then defeated East Clinton’s Haley Harrell and Sydney Michael 6-0, 6-0 to advance in the tournament.

Elsewhere in that same bracket, Bethel-Tate’s combination of Tiffany Shouse and Liz Kilgore defeated Clermont Northeastern’s Emilee Caudill and Amber Rossman 6-0, 6-1. The Lady Tigers then dropped a close match to Goshen’s Dianah Middick and Bailey Glass, falling 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1.

That victory set the Lady Warriors up with a match against Cardarelli and Reid, which the Lady Lions won 6-0, 6-0.

They then faced off against Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy’s Mady Shank and Ella Hipsley in the semifinals. The Lady Lions dropped that match to the four-seeded duo 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. That dropped the squad to the consolation bracket, where they defeated Cincinnati Country Day’s Katherine Alsfelder and Elizabeth Johnson 6-4, 6-2 to lock up a third-place finish.

Other local duos won their first-round matches, though they didn’t advance to the quarterfinals. Lily Cahall and Tori Loving earned a win for the Lady Lions, defeating Madeira’s Calin Petro and Eva Fischer 6-4, 6-3. Bethel-Tate’s duo of Kara Partin and Tori Burkett defeated Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference foes Megan Wallace and Sam Roberts of Batavia 6-2, 6-2.

The Clermont Northeastern duo of Cheyenne Stahl and Leah Decatur earned a 6-1, 6-1 win over Norwood’s Emily Isaac and Naomi Griswold, and Goshen’s Sami Huhn and Kassandra Palafox defeated Felicity’s Madison Baird and Nina Cadigen 6-2, 6-4.

In singles play, Batavia’s Sarah Farris defeated Bethel-Tate’s Taylor Clark 6-0, 6-4. Farris was defeated by Blanchester’s Emily Speakman 6-3, 6-0 in her next match.

New Richmond’s Kara O’Toole earned a 6-3, 6-3 win over East Clinton’s Isabella Walters. Third-seeded Hailey Clayborn from Clinton Massie defeated O’Toole 6-0, 6-0 in the next match.

Goshen’s Caroline Clifton advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating East Clinton’s Hannah Pickering 6-1, 6-1 and Clermont Northeastern’s Chandra Griffis 0-6, 6-4, 6-2. Clifton dropped her quarterfinal match to fourth-seeded Megan Wu from Madeira 6-4, 6-0.

Griffis earned a pair of wins before bowing out to Clifton. The senior defeated Felicity’s Sydney Stamper 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (1) and New Richmond’s Maria Steinmetz 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.

Another Lady Warrior, Kelsey Salmons, made a run to the quarterfinals. Salmons defeated Bethel-Tate’s Alyssa Barnhouse 6-3, 6-1 and Clinton Massie’s Anne Thompson 6-1, 0-6, 6-2 before falling to eventual tournament runner-up Anna Abunku 6-1, 6-0.

Reinhart, Cardarelli and Ried will all participate in their respective district tournaments beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 13 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.

Cardarelli and Reid will battle Miami Valley School’s Olivia Schrager and Eleanor Lui. Reinhart will face Techumseh’s Karli Mulkey. Should any athlete advance to the semifinals, those matches will be held on Saturday, Oct. 15 in Mason beginning at 9 a.m.