02-05-2025
Morgantown High girls' tennis team captures OVAC championship
GLEN DALE – The fourth – and final – day of the OVAC tennis tournament provided some new faces atop the leaderboard at the sun-filled, but wind-swept courts at John Marshall High School.
In the 'Small School,' Class 1A-4A division, Oak Glen ended Linsly's 13-year dominance as it nipped the Cadets, 11-10. In the 'Big School' Class 5A race, Morgantown won for the 10th time in the 12 years with a 25-19 triumph over Wheeling Park. Defending champion University was a close third at 17.
While the Mohigans captured three of the four singles titles, Wheeling Park's Madeline Bradshaw won the other. The Patriots top-seeded junior prevailed at No. 1 with an 8-0 blanking of Morgantown's No. 2 seed Maya Greenlee in quick fashion.
'It finally feels good to get over the hump. I've been in the finals a couple of times but never won until today,' Bradshaw said. 'I think the wind kind of helped me. I think I played a pretty consistent game that helped me get through the match.
'I felt my serve was pretty good today and I was able to put away some shots,' she added. 'That's what you have to do at this level.'
The win was also Bradshaw's 100th of her career.
Morgantown won at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 as top-seeded Natalia Cassim defeated Wheeling Park's No. 3 seeded Harper Moores 8-6; No. 1 Annika Chadha topped Wheeling Park's Reese Moores, 8-2; and No. 1 seed Annabell Goodkoontz downed University's third-seeded Hannah Stemple, 8-3.
The Golden Bears didn't have a finalist, and only had one semifinalist in Reese Witherow, but, according to veteran head coach Kenneth Keller, 'used a total team effort' in securing the top hardware.
This was absolutely a total team effort. Everybody contributed in some way,' Keller noted. 'I'm very pleased. We have a very young team with only one senior. We have four sophomores and a freshman in the starting lineup.'
Reese Witherow advanced to the semifinals at No. 4 singles but fell to University's Hannah Stemple in a hard-fought, 9-7, match.
Other members of the Oak Glen team are Leah McMahon, Elle Monaco, Zoey Caughey, Ruby Chaney and Roxye Brown.
'It's very exciting to finally win the title,' Keller said. 'I've got plenty of OVAC runner up plaques at the school, so this feels very good.'
The Carol Strasser Sportsmanship Award was presented to St. Clairsville's Makayla Hancock.
Team scoring was as follows:
BIG SCHOOL
1. Morgantown 25; 2. Wheeling Park 19; 3. University 17; 4. Parkersburg South 4
SMALL SCHOOL
1. Oak Glen 11; 2. Linsly 10; 3. Weir 9; 4. Indian Creek 4; 5. Steubenville Catholic 3; 6. Wheeling Central 2; 7. St. Clairsville 1
— Story by Kim North
