By Cort Reynolds
ADA - It's official: willful Ada senior Miranda Wills is set to attend Ohio Northern University and play tennis for her father's program.
She continues a family tradition of playing tennis at ONU, following in the forehand footsteps of her father and older sister.
Miranda signed with ONU Tuesday morning at the high school varsity gym. Her father Scott Wills has been the head women's coach at ONU for two decades, posting a 389-104 record while winning all nine league regular season titles in program history.
Miranda enjoyed a fine senior campaign playing number one singles for the Bulldog boys team.
The gritty Wills made a miraculously quick recovery from an October car accident to play most of the basketball season and all of the spring tennis campaign.
She excelled despite sporting a knee brace and an injured right shoulder that hampered her serving and overheads.
"I was privileged to serve as Miranda's coach this year," said Dexter Woods, an ONU tennis alumnus and former women's coach of the Lady Polar Bear program. "As captain, she led the team by example with her inspirational dedication and determination.
"As MVP, she finished the year with a sterling 10-4-1 record playing against the number one boy from each opposing team," he continued.
"During the season she constantly improved her game, including aggressively pursuing points with her approach shots and her volleys.
"I look forward to watching her play for Ohio Northern University and expect that she will do very well in bringing her attack game to the Ohio Athletic Conference," he added.
As a sophomore, the energetic Wills qualified for the district singles tournament.
The ONU women's team fashioned an 8-2 record in a shortened 2021 campaign, including 6-1 in the OAC. Miranda's older sister Mackenzie, a former Ada net standout, finished 8-0 in singles play and became the program's all-time singles wins leader this spring.
Scott Wills also played singles for ONU in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Pictured at signing:
Seated, from left: head coach Scott Wills, Miranda Wills, Jamie Wills.
Back: Ada tennis coach Dexter Woods, athletic director Eric Perkins, principal Dan Lee.
