By Cort Reynolds
BOWLING GREEN - Ada senior tennis ace Zach Beaschler won his first two matches easily at the Div. II district tournament in Bowling Green on Wednesday.
With the victories, Beaschler advanced to the semifinals Saturday at BG, and clinched his third straight berth in the state tournament.
"Zach got off to a great start to go into the semifinals; he has qualified for the state tournament and now can go into Saturday focused on his two matches," said Ada head coach Christy Beaschler.
Beaschler ran his season record to 22-0 with a pair of straight-set wins. He won 24 games and lost only one in the lopsided victories.
In the district first round Wednesday, Beaschler whipped sophomore Daniel Stevens of Clyde 6-0, 6-0.
Then in the quarterfinals, Beaschler eliminated senior Ben Brinkman of LCC 6-1, 6-0.
Beaschler will face senior Lukas Cziesla of Clyde in the semifinals Saturday morning. The Ada ace has already beaten his next opponent twice this season without dropping a set.
"But he is really tough," noted coach Beaschler of Cieszla.
Depending on the outcome, Beaschler will then either play in the district finals or the third-place match later Saturday. The better he does on Saturday will determine if he gets a higher seed and more favorable state tourney draw.
In his first round match of the 16-player draw, Ada junior Cade Mullins lost to senior James Hill of Edison 6-0, 6-2 to end his season with a 16-4 record.
"Cade took a tough loss in the first round," said Beaschler. "He was in almost every game. He played a very tough first-round opponent."
A top four finish at districts qualifies a player to the 16-player Div. II state singles tourney at Mason on May 25-26. Last year, Beaschler made it to the state quarterfinals.
