CINCINNATI — East Clinton’s Allison Tong and Marissa Williams picked up a pair of victories Saturday to take the Division II ATP sectional tennis doubles tournament.
Saturday’s play was moved to the Queen City Racket and Fitness Club due to rain.
By winning the sectional, they will play a fourth-place finisher from another sectional at Thursday’s Div. II Southwest District tournament at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
“They’ve held us together, anchors and captains for the team,” EC head coach Spencer Powell said. “They’ve been a good example of how to work hard, how to be out there and perform every match.”
The EC duo certainly didn’t take the easy road to the title.
Wednesday, Tong and Williams won a pair of three-set matches to advance to Saturday and qualify for districts.
They picked up where they left off on Saturday. In the semifinal, they took the opening set against Elena Rempe and Sydney Day of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy 6-3.
After dropping the second set 6-4, the Astro duo rallied to win the third 6-2 to advance to the championship final.
“They seemed prepared,” said Powell of his team. “They were ready to go. We’ve been waiting around all day. I think they were anxious to get on the courts. As seniors, they had the mentality that they’ve been here before – they’ve played sectionals before.
“The other team hadn’t been in this atmosphere before. (Tong and Williams) handled the pressure well.”
In the final, East Clinton got a break of serve late in the first set to take the opener against Katherine Alsfelder and Jordan Lutz, 6-4.
The duo from Cincinnati Country Day rallied in the second set, getting the break in the eighth game before serving it out to take the set 6-3.
“I just told them, ‘This is the last set, go for it every point,’” Powell said.
East Clinton was undeterred. Tong and Williams broke CCD in all three service games in the third set, and cruised to a 6-1 final set and sectional title.
Prior to Wednesday’s sectional tournament, the EC pair had played just one regular season match at doubles against Chillicothe.
They’ll get the chance to continue their senior season Thursday in the district tournament. Pairings for the district will be announced early this week. Play begins 9 a.m. Thursday with Division I and II singles, followed by doubles.
SUMMARY
D2 Doubles
Semifinals: Alsfelder, Lutz (CCD) d. Pfeister, Hipsley (CHCA) 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-2; Tong, Williams (EC) d. Day/Rempe (CHCA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Consolation: Pfeister, Hipsley (CHCA) d. Day, Rempe (CHCA) 6-3, 6-4
Finals: Tong, Williams (EC) d. Alsfelder/Lutz (CCD) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
