Olentangy Berlin senior Ella Franz punched a ticket to the upcoming state showcase, winning her first- and second-round matchups at Thursday’s Division I district girls tennis tournament at Hilliard Davidson.
Franz cruised past Gahanna Lincoln’s Aubrey Thomas 6-1, 6-3 in the opener before knocking off Olentangy’s Pranjal Agochiya 6-0, 6-0 in the second round.
Now, she’ll battle for seeding when she takes on Dublin Coffman’s Dasha Chistyakova in Saturday’s semifinal back in Hilliard. If she wins that, Franz will take on either Coffman’s Pritka Ghoush-Choudhuri or Upper Arlington’s Megan Basil in the final.
The Braves’ Agochiya, who beat DeSales’ Molly Ballard 6-2, 6-2 in her opener, wasn’t the only other area athlete to win at least one match. Olentangy’s Sheryl Gerald beat Olentangy Orange’s Afrefa Kapasi 6-1, 6-0 and Olentangy Liberty’s Kylie Wilson handled Dublin Scioto’s Yuka Nabeya 6-3, 6-0 before falling in the second round.
In doubles action, Orange’s Tyler Reed and Karol Korotkin won a pair to earn a spot in the state tournament. They beat Berlin’s Claire Emanuel and Siri Ponna 6-1, 6-0 before knocking off New Albany’s Demi Shostak and Helen Wang 6-1, 6-1.
Next up, Reed and Korotkin will take on Dublin Jerome’s Lydia Foster and Adayla Coakley in Saturday’s semifinal.
Division II at Columbus Academy
Buckeye Valley junior Anna Lenhart won her opening match, but fell in the second round to end her season one win away from qualifying for the state showcase at Thursday’s Division II district tournament in Columbus.
Lenhart beat Bloom-Carroll’s Alex Bedsole 7-5, 6-1 in the opener. She started her second-round showdown well, winning the first set 6-2, but Columbus Academy’s Anna Chang rallied to take the next two by respective scores of 6-2 and 6-4.
VOLLEYBALL
Cami Dellipoala had 10 kills and nine digs to lead Delaware Christian to a 25-15, 25-21, 25-12 win over host Granville Christian Thursday night.
Lizzy Anderson added six kills and five digs, Emma Rindfuss finished with a team-best 16 digs and Edem Marquis closed with 18 assists and six aces in the win.
BOYS SOCCER
Luke Hanlon scored off a centering pass from Danny Leeper midway through the first half and Olentangy made it hold up, blanking host Olentangy Liberty 1-0 in non-league action Thursday night in Powell.
GIRLS SOCCER
Ava Bruns poured in a pair of goals and Bekah Blair added a goal and an assist to lead Delaware Hayes, fresh off its second straight OCC championship, to a 3-2 non-league win over host Westerville Central Thursday night.
Aubrey Griner added an assist while Porter Barickman anchored the defense with a pair of saves.
