PC's Zgodzinski, Weit qualify for state tennis

PORT CLINTON — Port Clinton senior Megan Zgodzinski and sophomore Shantha Weit needed to bounce back. The duo suffered their first loss of the tennis season together Monday against Maumee Valley Country Day. Zgodzinski and Weit righted the ship Wednesday, winning two matches at the Division II district tournament at Port Clinton High School, clinching a spot in the state tournament. "This season, I feel like there's been a lot of ups," Weit said. "But the downs we've had have really helped us to this moment. I think we knew what we needed to do. We made it happen. I'm just so excited for us." Zgodzinski and Weit improved to 32-1 together this season. The two will return Saturday to compete for state seedings. Zgodzinski and Weit will face Ottawa Hills juniors Olivia Stumbo and Lorena Guardia in the district semifinals. "I talk a lot about how I think Megan is the most improved player, not only on our team, but in all of northwest Ohio," PC coach Joe Miller said. "If you would've saw her a year ago and saw her now? She's put in so much work and to see it pay off in this kind of way and make it to state is unbelievable. "Shantha is only a sophomore and Grace Arnold just broke the record for all-time wins. Shantha has almost 70 wins and she hasn't finished her sophomore season. She's an unbelievable player." The duo opened the day with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Ontario sophomores Ellie Dawson and Sophie Schuster. "I think going into Monday we were really nervous," Zgodzinski said. "Personally, I felt a bit of pressure to win that one just for the team. I think we came into today knowing we needed to play a little looser and calm." After a bit of rest while the remainder of the field thinned out, Zgodzinski and Weit rolled through their district quarterfinal. They defeated Bath seniors Allyson Harnishfeger and Briley Kaple 6-1, 6-2. "When we were leaving Maumee Valley, all I needed to know was they were both so extremely positive," Miller said. "I think they knew the match didn't come down to them. I think if it would have, I think the result would have been different. I think they both kind of loosened up at the end. They were content that they had another great match to practice for today." Arnold/Pixler go 1-1 An end to a storied career happened when Arnold and Nora Pixler, Port Clinton seniors, were eliminated by Maumee Valley Country Day's Sofia Avram and Mari Shannon. Arnold was a three-time state qualifier in doubles and the program's all-time leader in career wins with 124. "Everybody in this area knows who Grace and Nora are," Miller said. "They're one of the four best teams. Last year we got lucky. We were a third seed last year after losing to (SMCC's Rachel) Spicer and (Gianna) Pelz. We got a pretty good draw that allowed them to go to state. "This year, the one thing we weren't hoping for ended up happening. Sometimes that's how life goes." Arnold and Pixler began the day with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Lexington seniors Hannah Remy and Lily Thomas before the 6-2, 6-3 loss to MVCD. Port Clinton does have one more match Thursday when it hosts Norwalk. The Redskins are 19-1 with a chance to set the school mark for best record in a season. "Two very different paths to get them here. Grace has always been in Port Clinton City Schools," Miller said. "We knew about her coming up. She came to all of our summer camps. To see her evolve into statistically the best player in school history is incredible. "Nora joined us from Ottawa Hills a couple years ago. The special year we've had, she's a huge part of it. Without Nora, we probably don't have nearly as special of a year. She is fully committed to our school and program. Their impact is going to be felt for a long time." Hughes finishes 1-1 Port Clinton senior Anastasia Hughes came up one match short of state for the second year in a row, losing in the district quarterfinals to Maumee Valley Country Day's Valentina Buchkova. Buchkova is a foreign exchange student from Bulgaria. "She ran into a buzzsaw," Miller said. "We actually got to see her Monday. She played Nora on Monday and she's a great player. She rips the heck out of the ball." Hughes was the last of the 16 first-round matches to take court. That didn't slow her down as she mowed through Bluffton senior Hannah Nieman, 6-0, 6-1. "Anytime you play in a district tournament and you're a match or two away from state and you win a match 6-0, 6-1, that's impressive," Miller said. "You're playing one of the 16 best singles players in northwest Ohio. That's just what she does. She wins a lot of matches quickly and easily because she's really hard to prepare for." Hughes couldn't get much going against Buchkova, who won 6-1, 6-1. "You can find her at Court 1 all of the time playing," Miller said. "In our practice, she gets to play against Grace, Nora and Shantha and the likes of those girls. For her, she's really added a really solid cross-court forehand and backhand." Spicer goes 1-1 SMCC's Spicer was also eliminated in the quarterfinals, falling 6-0, 6-1 to Lexington senior Uloedo Ezike. "A lot of credit to the Lexington girl," SMCC coach Daniel Miller said. "She does a nice job of keeping the ball in play. When you play players like that, you have to push through the push. I thought Rachel started to pick up on that in the second set and played a much better second set. It was a lot more competitive." Spicer was all business early, eliminating Celina senior Isabelle Thobe 6-2, 6-0. "I thought she played very relaxed in three of the four sets today," Daniel Miller said. "Overall, she was relaxed and she played within herself. She rolled in that first match and took care of business." Just a junior, Spicer will be back next season for the Panthers. Getting the experience can only pay dividends for her a year from now. "One of the things I talk about, especially at the end of the season, is letting this add fuel to the fire and improving over the offseason," Daniel Miller said. "I usually tell them to remember these kinds of matches because these matches can help you improve in the offseason. " Eliminated early Clyde's Ariah Farrar and Kenzlie Guhn were in a three-set battle against Shelby juniors Courtney Howarth and Peyton Bruskotter. Clyde won the first set 6-2 before Shelby bounced back with a 6-1 edge in the second set. With Shelby up 4-3 in the third set, Clyde had to injury default after an injury to Guhn. Also in doubles, Perkins seniors Brynn Catlett and Jencyn Gennari had chances in the first set, but lost 7-6 (4), 6-2 to Clear Fork seniors Makenna Wuertz and Aly Brokaw. In singles action, Norwalk senior Lydia Trost was on the wrong end of a close one as Shawnee sophomore Riya Naroor pulled out a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. Ottawa-Glandorf senior Maggie Schmiedebusch topped Perkins senior Anna Ferback 6-0, 6-0 and Edison senior Liz Campbell was defeated by MVCD senior Layan Ridi 6-3, 6-2.