‘Jackets claim hardware: Williamstown girls doubles team wins state

Williamstown’s Claire Strobl (left) and Akhia Miller (right) pose for a photo after winning the WVSSAC Class AA/A doubles tournament championship Saturday at the Charleston Tennis Club in Charleston.
(Photo by Aaron Lee)

CHARLESTON — After falling short of the three-peat last season, Williamstown’s boys tennis team climbed back to the top of the mountain with a win against Winfield to clinch the state title. The Yellowjackets also earned a championship in the class AA/A girls doubles tournament courtesy of Akhia Miller and Claire Strobl.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the boys. They wanted redemption. They came together right before the season started, and they wanted to take back something that they felt that they should have had last year, and they came together right off the bat. They were hungry, and they wanted that,” said Williamstown coach Dave Leo of the team’s third state title in four years.

Williamstown’s Austin Bosgraf earned all-tournament honors and made it to the final four in the singles tournament. He lost to William Sinclair of Winfield in the semifinals, 8-3.

Bosgraf and Teammate Tyler Fenton finished as state runners-up in the doubles tournament, beating Nicholas Giatras and Max Wilcox of Charleston Catholic in the semifinals before falling to Winfield’s team of Connor Waybright and Sinclair.

The Generals’ path to victory included a semifinal victory over Benjamin Crow and Cameron Rawson of Ravenswood.

Austin Bosgraf of Williamstown sends the ball over the net in a WVSSAC Class AA/A doubles tournament championship match against Winfield at the Charleston Tennis Club in Charleston.
(Photo by Aaron Lee)

The Yellowjackets’ girls team finished as runners-up behind Chapmanville. Both Akhia Miller and Claire Strobl made it to the semifinals in the singles tournament and earned all-tournament team honors. Miller lost to Courtney Curnette of Chapmanville, the eventual state champion. Strobl defeated Logan’s Addyson Amick in the semis before also falling to Curnette.

In the doubles tournament, Miller and Strobl got their chance to avenge their losses. After defeating Lincoln’s Ashton McDonald and Addyson Amick in the semifinals, the pair faced off against the Tigers yet again in the championship, this time in the form of Emma Bryant and Madison Baker.

Miller and Strobl made the most of the opportunity, winning the state doubles title in two sets (6-2, 6-1).

“I am so impressed with how much we have clicked as a team. She (Miller) didn’t even go to my school last year. This was her first year at Williamstown, and we just clicked so fast,” said Strobl after the victory.

“I am just so happy that I made it this far with Claire,” added Miller.

Williamstown’s Tyler Fenton eyes the ball in a WVSSAC Class AA/A doubles tournament championship match against Winfield at the Charleston Tennis Club in Charleston.
(Photo by Aaron Lee)

The pair pointed out two things in particular that worked in their quest for the doubles crown. The first was remaining optimistic, “Staying positive. You see us getting pumped up after every point, that’s a really key factor to win. If you get down, you’re not coming back,” explained Strobl.

The latter was the duo’s chemistry working as a team, “She (Miller) was serving bombs, and I volleyed that, and it was just a one-two boom, point.”

That ability to play off of one another was also pointed out by Leo, “You gotta hand it to those two. Claire and Akhia were on the state volleyball team. Bringing that, incorporating it into tennis, I felt as though that would be something that could bring them back to this day (the state championship.”

He mentioned how adding Miller strengthened the group, “With Akhia coming in, she was a very helpful addition to the team, as far as bringing the whole team together.”

Strobl described how they managed to play their best tennis after coming up just short in the team and singles tournaments, “You have to separate the days and the tournaments. It’s three different tournaments, so we lost the first with team, so you gotta forget about it and go to singles, and then forget about the singles, and then come to doubles, clear your mind and play hard.”

Isabel Bhati of Parkersburg waits for the ball in a WVSSAC Class AAA doubles tournament semifinal match against Huntington at the Kanawha City Community Center in Kanawha City.
(Photo by Aaron Lee)

Thanks to the win, Miller and Strobl went out on a high note, “It’s gonna be our last memory of this tournament, and I think especially with us losing team, it was really important that we came out of this with a positive note. We get to look back and remember the last point, the best point.”

It was nearly a battle between four Yellowjackets in the doubles championship finals, as Gabi Holl and Ashtyn McIntyre made it to the semifinals for Williamstown before losing a close second set to Bryant and Baker, 9-8.

Pallavi Sundaram and Isabel Bhati represented the Parkersburg Big Reds in the class AAA girls doubles tournament, making it all the way to the semifinals. Huntington’s Olivia Akers and Molly Archer defeated the pair to advance to the title match.

Contact Aaron Lee at alee@newsandsentinel.com

Parkersburg’s Pallavi Sundaram looks over the net in a WVSSAC Class AAA doubles tournament semifinal match against Huntington at the Kanawha City Community Center in Kanawha City.
(Photo by Aaron Lee)