Story and photo by Cort Reynolds
ADA - The host Ada tennis team beat Marion Harding 3-2 Monday evening at the park courts to celebrate Senior Day in style.
Senior netters Miranda Wills, Colton Biederman and Cole Anspaugh were all recognized after the win as the parents held a post-match dinner in the park.
The Bulldog net record improved to 7-7 with the victory. Ada won all three singles matches without dropping a game as the teams played through drizzle early on in the match that started an hour late.
"The three singles players all rushed to victory to get off the court before potential rains, with senior honoree Miranda Wills finishing seconds before junior Dexter Woods III, who finished seconds before sophomore Brendan Jameson," recalled Ada head coach Dexter Woods.
Wills cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 rout at first singles to improve her record to 9-4-1 this season. She used aggressive groundstrokes and strong, well-placed forehand returns of serve to dispatch her opponent quickly.
Bulldog junior left-hander Dexter Woods III serve and volleyed his way to an easy 6-0, 6-0 win at second singles to improve to 12-2 this season.
Bulldog sophomore Brendan Jameson kept the ball in play well and rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 victory at third singles.
The Ada senior duo of Cole Anspaugh and Colton Biederman played solidly at first doubles but lost to the President tandem 6-4, 6-3.
"Cole and Colton, the other senior honorees, represented their class and their team very well by playing an excellent match against Wink and Deeren, who usually play first and second singles for Marion," Woods noted.
At second doubles, the Ada sophomore duo of Amelia Alexander and Geddes Klingler battled back from a 4-1 deficit to within 5-4 in the first set before falling, 6-4.
In set two, Alexander held serve to stay within 2-1. Ada built a 0-40 lead in the next contest to nearly break serve and tie it 2-2, but the MH duo rallied to win the next five points and the game to regain the momentum.
Despite some good volleying from Klingler and solid ground strokes by Alexander, the Presidents then reeled off the next three games to win the set 6-1.
"Amelia and Geddes were in the match the entire evening, but simply could not finish off a large number of game points," Woods recounted.
Ada and MH also competed in junior varsity doubles and JV singles match play.
"The matches were very exciting and went into tennis overtime with Brendan Kah and Connor Daugherty losing an eight-game pro set 7-8 (6-8) to their doubles opponent, and Ashlyn Madison losing her singles match by an identical score 7-8 (6-8)," reported Woods.
"Both matches had many long and exciting rallies that showed how much each of the three Ada players has improved this season," said coach Woods, who was very pleased with their play.
Individual match results:
1st singles: Miranda Wills (Ada) defeated Owen Williams (MH) 6-0, 6-0
2nd singles: Dexter Woods (Ada) def. Chord Mull (MH) 6-0, 6-0
3rd singles: Brendan Jameson (Ada) def. Alex Rice (MH) 6-0, 6-0
1st doubles: Brady Wink/Asa Deeren (MH) def. Cole Anspaugh/Colton Biederman (Ada) 6-4, 6-3
2nd doubles: Evan Bongel/Zane Menzir (MH) def. Amelia Alexander/Geddes Klingler (Ada) 6-4, 6-1
The Bulldogs are scheduled to play at Hardin County rival Kenton Tuesday, May 4.
Ada then hosts Defiance Ayersville Wednesday, May 5 in the final home match of the spring.
The NBTL conference tournament is slated for Friday outdoors at Bryan. In case of rain, the tourney will be moved indoors to the courts at Defiance College.
The Bulldog netters tied for the league meet crown in 2017, and won it outright in 2018.
Ada's match at Van Wert Thursday, April 29 was rained out and won't be made up.
The Bulldogs are 2-4 at home, 3-3 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites (Westwood) this season.
