LEXINGTON – In the state rankings posted by Scott Gerber at OhioTennisZone.com, Lexington is No. 9 in Division II as it prepares for its own invitational Saturday and a 16-team field that includes seven other ranked teams.
But the standings that matter most to Lex coach Ron Schaub are where his girls finish in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
Lex's 14-year reign as the only program to win the OCC came to an end last fall when Ashland used better top to bottom depth to prevail by 1.5 points.
Getting back on top is Lex's mission, led by the senior trio of Sylvia Goldsmith, Hayliegh Tucker and Katie Volz. A huge addition is freshman Gracie Pfieffer, who, truthfully, was ready to play varsity tennis a couple of years ago.
"Sylvia's a good leader, a good captain," Schaub said. "Gracie's real steady and puts a lot of time in. She makes somebody beat her. She'll never beat herself. And Hayliegh and Katie are able to help us in both singles and doubles."
Long-time Ashland coach Rick Crooks retired from coaching the boys and girls at the end of the last school year, but agreed to come back at the request of athletic director Jason Goings.
The Arrows lost eight seniors off last year's OCC title squad, with seven junior varsity players moving up to join lone returnee Korinne Harris. She was 24-6 last year as a freshman and runner-up at No. 3 singles in the OCC.
By contrast, match experience isn't a problem for Lex. Goldsmith, who will be playing in college for NCAA Division II Belmont Abbey in North Carolina, is a three-time MVP in the OCC and three-time state tournament participant in singles.
This is the first season she hasn't come off an injury after breaking her right foot twice and fracturing her left ankle. She's aiming for a fourth state berth, but this time in doubles with Pfieffer, who has been playing like a high school veteran for quite some time now.
Volz and Tucker also will pair up come sectionals. Tucker, a three-time OCC champ, went to state last year in doubles with Madi Mueller.
Another team goal is to make it back to the Final Four in the state team tournament for the first time since Goldsmith's freshman year. For that to happen, they'll need players other than the top four to step up.
Abbey Dawson, who won the No. 1 OCC doubles title last year with Mueller, is part of the senior class, along with Emma Cummins and Jessica Miller. Rounding out the squad are junior Rachel Madore and freshmen Sara Nelson and Kylie Diehl.
"It feels like just yesterday I was like, OK, I'm going to be a freshman," Goldsmith said. "Now it's my last year and it's just hard to believe.
"This was the first time I've had all winter to prepare. Usually I'm getting out of a boot in April or it's like, OK, I've got two months to prepare for the season. But, yeah, this year is going well."
Lex began this week with a 4-1 victory over Mount Vernon, the team that will probably offer the stiffest title challenge come the OCC tournament on Sept. 29 at the College of Wooster courts.
Saturday's Lex Invite will be staged at three venues: the high school courts, Lakewood Racquet Club and Ontario's courts.
Toledo Central Catholic, ranked No. 4 in DII and the biggest roadblock in Lex's bid to advance from the Northwest District to the Final Four, is competing in the tournament. Also in the field is defending DI state champ Magnificat, led by defending OHSAA state singles champ Anna Roggenburk.
North Canton Hoover, Perrysburg, Upper Arlington, Laurel and Solon are other DI or II ranked teams competing at Lex, along with Galion, the only area school other than the hosts.
Grace Cornell was in the Spartans' lineup last year. Now she's the head coach. Despite juggling the job with her first year of college and taking over at the last minute, the Spartans got off to a 5-2 start with seniors filling the singles slots: Emily McCarrick started 6-1 at No. 1, Alex Wasylenki started 6-1 at No. 2 and Ava Naumoff is No. 3, moving between there and doubles. Playing doubles are sophomores Maddie Yeager, Alexie Lorenz, Madalyn Fikentscher and Isabelle Kern.
"It's been great to work with these girls since we already had a special bond from playing together before I graduated," Cornell said. "I'm eager to keep pushing them to improve and hopefully recruit some new girls for next year to grow the team."
The Rams, coached by Tom and Theresa Hill, finished runner-up at the River Valley Invitational. Seniors Ally Marsh and Chloe Lyndsay are at No. 1 and 2 singles, respectively, with junior Caylynn Penney at No. 3. Abrya Pierce and Bailey Hill are the No. 1 doubles tandem, with Natalie Reynolds and Helanna Hicks at No. 2.
The Hills have 27 girls on the team.
"We're excited to have the underclassmen coming out and believe that if we keep working hard this is the start of great years in girls tennis at Madison," Tom Hill said.
Seniors Jade Salyers and Haley Foss and juniors Anya Doklovic, Lizzie Burson and Haley Mazander are the returnees from a team that went 14-5 in Todd Friend's first year as coach.
The challenge this year was replacing last year's three singles players. With 18 girls out, Friend has the depth for an interchangeable lineup.
"With no expectations, the girls worked hard last year and earned their 14-5 record by gutting out some tough, close matches and gaining confidence in their game," Friend said. "Galion (led by 2017 state qualifier Kayley Gimbel) should be the favorite in the MOAC (MId-Ohio Athletic Conference) but I would love to see us get a second or third in the league tournament."
Coach Kyle McKelvey can draw from 23 girls, including seven returning lettermen: junior Jensen Feussner at No. 1 singles, seniors Leah Karnes and Kristen Long at No. 2 and 3, respectively; senior alternate Faith Gosser, the No. 1 doubles team of junior Jarica Awwiller and sophomore Madison Sharrock and sophomore alternate Jessica Long.
"No one player on the team will be a hero that can carry things on her own," McKelvey said. "Any win will have to be a divided team effort."