Marietta’s No. 1 singles player Reagan Estes returns a forehand during her 6-1, 6-0 win over Logan’s Josie Sigler Wednesday afternoon at the Beren Tennis Center on the campus of Marietta College. The Tigers won the dual match, 5-0. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)
MARIETTA — The separation from top to bottom on the Marietta ladder for high school girls tennis is a thin one.
On Wednesday afternoon at the Beren Tennis Center on the campus Marietta College, the Tigers showcased their depth after dropping just four games over the course of five varsity matches in a 5-0 dual match win over Logan.
“We have really good depth — in singles all three of them are really close,” Marietta coach Chris Mayer. “It’s almost like having three No. 1 singles players. Same with doubles. Both those doubles team are very competitive with each other.
“And that helps us because they see competition every single day in practice.”
Olivia Emery at No. 2 singles, along with the No. 2 doubles pair of senior Alex Freimann and junior Elayna Rehl, both won their best-of-three matches with 6-0, 6-0 shutouts.
Freimann, entering her fourth year on varsity and the lone senior among the five varsity entries, lost her playing partner from last season because of graduation. Rehl brings a different dimension to game, so it took some time for two to develop chemistry. So far, the matchup has worked in Marietta’s favor as Freimann and Rehl are undefeated in six dual matches.
The two girls also placed second at the Reynoldsburg Invitational.
“We definitely struggled a bit more in that tournament because there were more Columbus schools involved,” Freimann said. “But it definitely helped us improve and work better. We were still fairly new partners when we played up there, so we had to learn how to play with each other.
“My partner last year was more aggressive like I was and we were a very aggressive team. Switching to Elayna, she is more of a consistent player so I can trust her on the baseline. She is usually pretty good at lining up the ball for me so I can slam the ball down at the net.”
Completing the singles side of the lineup for Marietta, junior Reagan Estes at No. 2 defeated Nevaen Blystone 6-1, 6-0, while junior Katie Lovejoy at No. 3 defeated Madachi Roberts 6-0, 6-1.
Estes, who took over the No. 1 position at the beginning of the season and has been in the varsity lineup since she arrived as a freshman, feels confident about her game but is seeking to resolve issues with the mental side of the match. She defeated Logan’s Josie Sigler 6-1, 6-0.
“Playing No. 1 this year makes me feel better and I play better,” Estes said. “It just does, but it brings out the best in me.
“Today, I played better against the Logan girl than the first time I played her, but it’s not the best I’ve done.
The final result of the afternoon was turned by Marietta’s No. 1 double crew of junior Dallas Bolen and Isabel Macatol, who defeated Logan’s Megan Karns and Alayna Blanchard 6-1, 6-1.
The Tigers improve to 5-1 in dual matches and have a challenging task ahead with next Tuesday’s road test against Columbus Academy.
“Columbus Academy is one of the best teams in the state,” Mayer said. “That will be a good one for us and I think the girls are looking forward to that type of competition because they want to get better.”
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newssandsentinel.com
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