Estes, Emery to represent Tiger tennis at state
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For the first time since 1983, the Marietta High girls tennis team will be represented at the state tournament.
The doubles duo of Reagan Estes and Olivia Emery won their district last week in Athens to earn a spot at state, which will take place Friday and Saturday at Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason.
Having played as Marietta's No. 1 and 2 singles players most of the year, Estes and Emery teamed up for doubles competition for the postseason. They had experimented with doubles earlier in the season and had a lot of success.
"They played together in a doubles tournament in Reynoldsburg," said MHS head coach Chris Mayer. "They played extremely well against some Columbus area schools. That's when we started thinking about putting them together in doubles for the tournament because they played so well."
It's the third time in program history that Marietta will send a girls doubles team to state.
"It's always a privilege to coach players who are playing at that level," Mayer said. "It's a real privilege to coach a couple of great young ladies."
While every other district in the state sends multiple qualifiers to the state tournament, the Southeast District only sends one. So Estes and Emery went into district play knowing they had to come out on top to keep their season alive.
"It was a lot of pressure," Estes said.
"We did really well our first two matches. The third one we knew would be the toughest. At one point I wasn't sure if we were going to get it done. Then it started raining and we went inside. Olivia and I are very comfortable playing inside but the other team looked flustered. I think that helped us feel in control."
The Tiger juniors eventually got the job done.
"It was really emotional," Emery said. "Reagan and I hugged each other. At one point we were feeling really good like 'We can do it.' Then there were other points where we weren't sure. Once we got the final point, it was kind of disbelief at first, then it hit us."
Mayer was thrilled to see two of his players accomplish something so special, but not surprised.
"They're both fantastic, hard workers," Mayer said. "They're really committed to getting better and improving at everything they do. As a pair, they play perfectly off each other. If one gets down, the other picks her up. They have great chemistry as a doubles team."
Emery and Estes understand how rare their accomplishment is and are very appreciative of the opportunity.
"I've been playing tennis most of my life," Emery said. "This has been a great experience. Marietta hasn't had a tennis player go to state in awhile, but it's really nice to get there. For Marietta to be there is a really big deal."
Added Estes, "It means the absolute world to me. I'm so proud of me and Olivia that we made it that far. It's mind-blowing."
The Tigers had a great regular season as a team, finishing with a 12-2 record. Though Emery and Estes primarily played singles during the regular season, they have doubles experience together going back to middle school. They've grown close over the years, which has helped them build chemistry.
"We're really good friends on and off the court," Emery said. "We do a good job communicating with each other. A lot of doubles teams don't have our kind of relationship. We know how to boost each other up. It's definitely something special."
That bond has been a major key to their success, especially as the competition has ramped up during tournament play.
"We're really good friends and that helps a lot," Estes said. "If you don't have a good connection with your partner, you won't do as well."
The Tigers will have to win two matches on Friday to advance to Saturday. Emery and Estes open up against Caitlyn DeWitt and Reese Grothaus of Bryan. DeWitt and Grothaus placed third in their district.
"It's a completely different level at state," Mayer said.
"The key at this level is being aggressive. You can't play defense. You've got to try to take control of points, try to dictate points instead of letting the opponent dictate for us. Stay confident and be aggressive."
Emery and Estes are preparing hard for what will be the toughest battles of their careers.
"We're trying to strategize a little more," Emery said. "There's more difficult teams there. We're working on strategy and how to handle some players we don't have experience against.
"Usually we can get away with being more consistent than aggressive. At state, it's better to be aggressive and that'll allow us to win more points."
Estes said her goal is to finish top four, which would give the Tigers first team All-Ohio status.
"We have to focus on making sure we are in control of the point," she said. "Don't hit to be safe, hit to win. These girls, we cannot just hit a ball back .We need to put all of our skills in to beat them."
Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.