Williamstown's Claire Stroble (left) and Akia Miller (right) pose for a photo after winning the WVSSAC Class AA/A doubles tournament championship Saturday at the Charleston Tennis Club in Charleston. Take. (Photo provided by Aaron Lee)
CHARLESTON — Despite falling short of a three-peat last season, the Williamstown boys tennis team climbed back to the top of the mountain with a win over Winfield and the state title. The Yellowjackets also won the Class AA/A girls doubles tournament thanks to Akia Miller and Claire Stroble.
“I couldn't be more proud of them. They wanted redemption. They got together right before the season started and wanted to get back what they felt they should have gotten last year, and they came together right away. . They were hungry and wanted it.” Williamstown coach Dave Leo said of his team's third state title in four years.
Williamstown's Austin Vosgraf earned all-tournament honors and advanced to the final four in the singles tournament. In the semifinals, he lost to William Sinclair (Winfield) 8-3.
Bosgraf and teammate Tyler Fenton were state runners-up in the doubles tournament, defeating Nicholas Giatras and Max Wilcox (Charleston Catholic) in the semifinals before losing to Winfield's Connor Waybright and the team from Sinclair.
The Generals' road to victory included wins over Benjamin Crowe and Cameron Lawson (Ravenswood) in the semifinals.
Williamstown's Austin Vosgraf sends the ball over the net during the WVSSAC Class AA/A doubles tournament championship game against Winfield at the Charleston Tennis Club in Charleston. (Photo provided by Aaron Lee)
The Yellow Jackets girls team finished runner-up to Chapmanville. Akia Miller and Claire Stroble both reached the semifinals of the singles tournament and earned All-Tournament Team honors. Miller lost to eventual state champion Courtney Carnett of Chapmanville. Stroble defeated Logan's Addison Amick in the semifinals, but also lost to Carnett.
In the doubles tournament, Miller and Strobl had a chance to get revenge. After defeating Lincoln's Ashton McDonald and Addison Amick in the semi-finals, the pair faced off against the Tigers again in the championship, this time in the form of Emma Bryant and Madison Baker.
Miller and Strobl made the most of their opportunity, winning the state doubles title in two sets (6-2, 6-1).
“I'm very impressed with how well we've worked together as a team. She (Miller) didn't even go to my school last year. This was her first year at Williamstown, but I We hit it off very quickly.” Strobl said after the win.
“I’m really happy to have gotten this far with Claire.” added Miller.
Williamstown's Tyler Fenton looks at the ball during the WVSSAC Class AA/A doubles tournament championship game against Winfield at Charleston Tennis Club in Charleston. (Photo provided by Aaron Lee)
The pair pointed to two things that worked particularly well in their pursuit of the doubles crown. Although I remained optimistic at first, “Stay positive. You can see us getting excited every time we get a point, and that's a really important factor in winning. If you're down, you can't come back.” Strobl explained.
The latter was the duo's chemistry working as a team. “She (Miller) had a bomb coming out and I volleyed it. It was just a one-two boom.”
The ability to play off each other was also noted by Leo. “I've got to give it to those two guys. Claire and Akiah were on the state volleyball team. We felt like if we took that into tennis, maybe we could bring them back to today (state championships). .”
He mentioned how Miller's addition strengthened the group. “With the addition of Akia, she has become a great addition to the team in terms of bringing the whole team together.”
Strobl explained how he was able to play his best tennis after falling just short in the team and singles tournaments. “You have to separate the days and the tournaments. It's three different tournaments, so the first time I lost in a team match, I forgot about that and went to the singles, then I forgot about the singles and came to the doubles, and I lost my heart. We have to clear it and play hard.”
Parkersburg's Isabel Batty waits for the ball during the WVSSAC Class AAA doubles tournament semifinal match against Huntington at the Kanawha City Community Center in Kanawha City. (Photo provided by Aaron Lee)
Thanks to the win, Miller and Strobl were in great shape. “This is going to be the last memory of this tournament and I think it was really important, especially for the losing team, to come through this situation with a positive mindset. You can remember the point.
In the doubles championship finals, Gabi Hall and Ashtyn McIntyre advanced to the semifinals in Williamstown, but narrowly lost the second set to Bryant and Baker, 9-8, resulting in a close contest between four Yellow Jackets teams. became.
Pallavi Sundaram and Isabel Batty represented the Parkersburg Big Reds in the Class AAA girls doubles tournament, reaching the semifinals. Huntington's Olivia Akers and Molly Archer defeated the pair to advance to the title match.
Contact Aaron Lee at alee@newsandsentinel.com
Parkersburg's Pallavi Sundaram looks over the net during the WVSSAC Class AAA doubles tournament semifinal game against Huntington at the Kanawha City Community Center in Kanawha City. (Photo provided by Aaron Lee)
