Girls Tennis: Bexley’s Bowles, Academy duo notch Division II state titles
Friday, October 20, 2023
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
Bexley’s Amiya Bowles celebrates a point during her Division II state semifinal win Oct. 20 in Wooster. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Breathe in, breathe out and just take a moment. It’s simple enough, but sometimes all an athlete has to do to move on from a bad moment.
Bexley’s Amiya Bowles had such a moment when sent a shot into the net late in the second set of her Division II girls tennis state final against Cincinnati Indian Hills’ Martha Thompson. The play cost her a point and an opportunity to close out the match.
But sophomore recovered and finished off a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Thompson to win her second consecutive state championship on Oct. 20 at the Aspen Racquet Club.
“I knew that Martha was going to make a move in the middle of the match,” said Bowles, who finished 19-0 this season. “So, I had to be prepared and not think too hard about it. Obviously, I was frustrated with myself. There were some points where it was routine balls that I practice all the time and I was missing them. So, I really had to go to my towel, breathe in and out of my nose and really just calm down and reset.”
Bowles became just the 20th player to win multiple state titles in OHSAA tournament history.
“It feels great,” said Bowles, who finished 19-0 this season. “I said it last year, but it’s really relieving. I’m just taking it all in. With it being my second time winning, I’m still surreal.
Bowles defeated Thompson 6-0, 6-3 in last year’s final.
“Her raising her game made me raise mine,” Bowles said. “We battled every point. I’m proud of the way I played today. There were ups and downs during the match, but I think I overcame (the adversity).”
Thompson gave Bowles everything she could handle.
“Last year, I came out a little bit scared, but this year I had nothing to lose,” said Thompson, also a sophomore. “Honestly, I could have won that match, but she outplayed me. Amiya is an amazing player. You just gotta go out there and have fun and do your best and that’s what I did. And I’m proud of myself and I proud of her for being a two-time state champ. Hats off to her.”
What was the difference in playing Bowles this time around?
“Honestly, her spin is so much (greater) than other opponents I’ve played,” Thompson said. “Also, she just puts everything away. It doesn’t matter if it’s a short ball or a deep ball. She just puts it away.”
Columbus Academy’s Arya Chabria and Yasemin Bilgin arrived at Aspen around 7:30 a.m. And when the clock struck 3:55 p.m., they finished off a marathon 7-6 (7-6), 4-6, 7-5 victory over Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown’s Kate Mills and Summer Wu to win a Division II state championship. The match was the last one to finish.
“I didn’t think it was going to be that long,” said Chabria about the 3-plus hour match. “Everyone was fighting. (Wu) had some really beautiful service points in the last few games and we really couldn’t do anything about it.”
Bilgin and Chabria, both seniors, were state qualifiers in 2022, but went 1-1.
“It’s our last match together, so it’s emotional,” Chabria said. “We’ve played since we were 8 (years old) and played together for the last two years.”
Richie Francois of New Albany makes contact during the Division I state tennis tournament Oct. 19 in Wooster. Photo: John Hulkenberg
The disappointment of another state runner-up finish was etched on New Albany senior Paige Cornelius’ face.
Cornelius, along with classmate Richie Francois, finished Division I doubles runner-up for the second consecutive season. The Eagles’ duo fell to Mason’s Emma Wagner and Pratyusha Chaduri 6-0, 6-1.
Cornelius, a Harvard field hockey commit, was playing in her final scholastic tennis match.
“We did what we could, but they played amazing. All props to them,” Cornelius said. “It’s crazy because I’m not playing tennis anymore. I’ll be focusing on field hockey for sure. But it’s bittersweet. It was a good ending to the season and it was exciting even though we didn’t get the result we necessarily wanted, it was a great tournament. It’s sad I won’t be holding a racquet for a while.”
Francois and Cornelius were just one of three central Ohio doubles teams to advance to the second day in Division I.
Dublin Jerome’s Lydia Foster and Adalya Coakley outlasted Worthington Kilbourne’s Libby Alderman and Tyra Butler 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 for third place in another marathon match.
Foster and Coakley fell to Francois and Cornelius 6-2, 6-3 in one semifinal and Alderman and Butler lost to Wagner and Chauduri 6-4, 6-1 in the other.
Dublin Coffman’s Lauren Burkett, Olentangy Berlin’s Soleil Cordell, Olentangy Orange’s Avery Reed and Upper Arlington’s Isabella Roth and Alexa Roth each went 1-1 in Division I and Academy’s Grace Philip and Sophie Wu went 1-1 in Division II on the first day of action, which was played on Oct. 19 at the College of Wooster.
Coffman’s Pritka Ghosh Choudhuri went 0-1 in Division I and Academy’s Tamanna Arya likewise in Division II.