DISTRICT TENNIS: Vermilion's Kretchmar wins in 3 sets, qualifies for state

PORT CLINTON — Severin Kretchmar saw an opportunity to clinch a trip to the state tennis tournament, and he went for it. Kretchmar, a Vermilion sophomore, was serving at match point in the third set in a second-round match Wednesday at the Division II district tennis tournament at the Von Thron-Hablitzel Tennis Center. His opponent, Gustavo Caillaux from Maumee Valley Country Day, hit a return that took Kretchmar to the left corner of the court. Kretchmar responded by ripping a forehand winner that found the left sideline to clinch a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win. The victory moved Kretchmar into Saturday's district semifinals and clinched a trip to next week's state tourney. The top four singles and doubles finishers at district qualify for state. "It felt amazing," Kretchmar said of the match winner. "I got that ball and saw it and said, 'I'm gonna do it.' I knew it was most likely gonna go in and that was it." Kretchmar, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs "not even" 130 pounds, puts some good power behind his shots. His record this spring is 27-4 and holds the school record for wins in a season. "My game is controlling the points," he said. "Some people will play defense all day, but my philosophy is just being as aggressive as possible and dictating every single point to win." Kretchmar, who was spotted a 3-0 lead in the first set when Caillaux showed up late, jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set before Caillaux made things interesting by pulling within 5-3. "You could tell (Caillaux, a senior) was an experienced player so it was gonna be a tough match," Vermilion coach Terry Anders said. "The second set was 6-4 so (Kretchmar) was in it, just couldn't finish it off. "To come out and take a 5-1 lead (in the third) says a lot about him mentally. As a sophomore it's very rare to have a kid that mentally strong who can put together a third set like that. It was fun to watch." Anders was happy to see Kretchmar win the match on a well-placed shot. "Not giving away any secrets, but his forehand is his power shot," Anders said. "He works to set up that forehand. When it's there, he goes for it. He can place it really well and can put power on it. Gustavo came to the net quite a few times on his forehand, which didn't work out for him. Sevy was able to hit some really good shots." Kretchmar lost in the district qualifying match at sectionals last year, so Wednesday marked his first trip to the district tourney. He started strong with a confidence-building 6-0, 6-1 win over Dylan Byers from Elida. The Port Clinton Sectional champion says he practices "all day every day." "He has committed himself to getting better and it paid off this year," Anders said. That commitment showed in a clutch third set. "(Caillaux) played really well and we went back and forth and he got the second set," Kretchmar said. "We went to third and I just pulled away and played the tennis I could have and came away with the win." Kretchmar was the only area player to win two matches Wednesday to qualify for state. Huron's Mason Schindley and Perkins' Chase Young — both are sophomores — won their opening matches before losing in straight sets. Schindley swept Ada's Brendan Jameson 6-1, 6-3 before losing to Lexington's Karl Etzel, 6-1, 6-2. Young defeated St. Marys Memorial's Cody Birt 7-6, 6-1 before losing to Ottawa Hills freshman Jack Kayse, 6-2, 6-0. St. Mary Central Catholic's Will Cundiff won a set before dropping a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 decision to St. Marys' Isaac Wibbeler. In doubles, Huron's Jared and Jason Lenczyk and Port Clinton's Owen Auxter and Blake Denno each won a match before falling one win short of state. The Lenczyk brothers swept Wauseon's Carson Wenger and Gavin VanDeilen 6-2, 6-2 before losing to Lexington's Ethan Remy and Dylan Catanese, 6-0, 6-0. Auxter and Denno defeated Ottawa Hills' Bode Wray and Micah Walker 6-0, 6-1 before falling 6-0, 6-1 to Lexington's Jake Chilcote and Owan Gongwer. Clyde had two doubles teams qualify for district and both fell in the opening round. Alex Krintzline and Aric Kauble lost 6-2, 6-2 to Archbold's Ethan Stuckey and Cameron Yoder while the Fliers' Aidan Krintzline and Chase Castle were eliminated by Ottawa Hills' Darwin Posta and Charlie Estes, 6-1, 6-1. The state tournament will be held next Thursday and Friday at Ohio State University's Ty Tucker Tennis Center.