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Westside’s Greenwald wins Metro singles title
May 15, 2023
The girls tennis team finished in fourth place, with 26 points at the Metro Conference Championships at the Koch Tennis Center on Thursday, May 11. Sophomore Grace Greenwald and junior Ava Schroeder led the way for the Warriors. Greenwald won the No. 1 singles title and Schroeder finished in fourth place in the No. 2 singles.
Greenwald’s road to the Metro title was not easy. She faced Elkhorn South freshman Ratna Kang in the finals. Greenwald won the first set 6-4, but Kang came back to win the second set 7-6. Since the match was tied at one set apiece, they entered the ultimate ten-point tie breaker. Kang had won their match earlier in the season, but that wouldn’t stop Greenwald. The Westside sophomore edged Kang 10-8 in the tiebreaker to win the title. Greenwald explains what she felt during the match.
“She just never goes away, she is so solid,” Greenwald said. “I was trying to stay in there with her and make sure I don’t lose myself during the match.”
Westside head coach Bart Jeseritz watched the whole match and expressed how he felt when it was tied at 8-8.
“I knew she could do it,” Jeseritz said. “She kept having runs of points and then would let a couple back in. So she had just let a couple back in which then made the moment of the next run of points which was perfect timing to close things out.”
The Class A state meet will be held in less than a week at the Koch Tennis Center. Greenwald explains how the Metro tournament set her up for state.
“It definitely gives me the confidence that I can keep fighting back,” Greenwald said. “It doesn’t necessarily change who I play leading up to state but gives me that extra confidence that I have been lacking this season.”
Greenwald raised her record to 24-4 on the season and will be the No. 2 seed at the state tournament. Jeseritz also shared his thoughts about the upcoming state championships.
“I think it is going to be a tight race,” Jeseritz said. “We will probably be the two seeds going into it, and if everyone wins and be where they should be we will have a great semifinal and final.”
The NSAA State Tennis Championships get underway with the first round at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 18. The finals will be played at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 19 at the Koch Tennis Center.