MASON — Two Central Ohio girls tennis teams came home with second-place finishes Saturday, Oct. 17, as Columbus School for Girls and Upper Arlington each finished runner-up in the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association state tournament at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.
Columbus School for Girls, making its first state appearance in 10 years, lost to Pepper Pike Orange 3-0 in the Division II final. Upper Arlington lost to Mason by the same 3-0 score in the Division I final — the Golden Bears’ only loss in 16 dual matches this season, against a Comets team that won its 10th straight OTCA title.
OTCA team matches end as soon as one team wins three courts, and both finals were decided in the singles lines. For CSG, the only player to win a game in a match that counted in the final was sophomore Guiliana Underdown, who fell to Melanie Statsevych 6-1, 6-0 at second singles. Senior Iva Karagirova lost 6-0, 6-0 at first singles to Genevieve Hayden, who had repeated as Division II singles champion in the individual state tournament on Oct. 16, and sophomore Paloma Sanchez was swept 6-0, 6-0 by Ivy Berlin at third singles.
Upper Arlington’s final ran the same way against the hosts. Senior Alexa Roth lost 6-0, 6-0 at first singles to Emma Wagner, senior Kylie Husted fell to Harine Karthikeyan 6-2, 6-0 at second singles, and senior Carmen Kimmel lost to Megha Soundar 6-0, 6-1 at third singles. Wagner, a Quinnipiac commit who also won doubles titles in 2023 and 2024, had won the Division I doubles championship with Saanvi Reddy in the individual tournament on Oct. 16.
Both Central Ohio teams had earned their finals with semifinal wins earlier in the day. Columbus School for Girls defeated Lima Shawnee 3-1 in its Division II semifinal, completing a breakthrough run for a veteran roster — two seniors and four juniors on varsity — that had not reached the state team tournament in a decade. Upper Arlington swept Toledo St. Ursula in its Division I semifinal before running into Mason.
The runner-up finishes cap a strong postseason week for Central Ohio girls tennis, coming the day after the individual state finals at the same venue. For CSG, a state final a decade in the making gives a young core — Underdown and Sanchez are both sophomores — a clear target for next fall. For Upper Arlington, a 15-1 dual season and a state runner-up trophy mark another deep run for one of the area’s most consistent programs.
Orange’s Division II title and Mason’s 10th straight Division I crown underline the standard at the top of Ohio girls tennis. The Central Ohio teams leave Mason knowing exactly where that standard sits — and, in CSG’s case, that they belong in the conversation again after 10 years away.