Better than beating on each other: Lex rolls into Final Four of state team tennis tournament

LEXINGTON – It’s nice to be able to focus on beating a real enemy. And it showed.

Lexington blanked archrival Ottawa Hills 5-0 on Monday, earning the Northwest District berth in the May 26 Ohio Tennis Coaches Association state team tournament at the College of Wooster.

Two days earlier, in the finals of the OHSAA Division II sectional tournament, it felt more like an intra-squad scrimmage for the Minutemen. It featured all-Lex title matches in singles and doubles, with all six of coach Ron Schaub’s finalists advancing to the district tourney Thursday and Saturday in Port Clinton.

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“It’s just hard to play your own teammates because you know them and don’t want anything drama-wise,” junior Dylan Catanese said. “It’s nice to be able to yell ‘C’mon’ for your teammates instead of just cheering for yourself.”

For fellow junior Owan Gongwer, the 2023 co-News Journal Player of the Year, even warmups feel different when playing against another school.

“It’s different because in matches like this, when you don’t really know the opponent, in warmups you learn their weaknesses and strengths,” he said. “It’s mostly seeing if their forehand or backhand is better. Another key when you’re serving (in warmups), you see if their serve has a lot of kick or is flat. You just want to prepare. It’s a whole process.”

The entire atmosphere is different when it’s teammate against teammate.

“All of your parents are in the same area and it’s a friendly environment,” Gongwer said, “but they don’t really cheer for who wins a point just because we know each other.”

The Minutemen gave family and friends plenty of reason to cheer Monday at the high school courts as they clinched a Final Four berth in the OTCA tournament for the 16th time under Schaub. All but one player is back from last year’s team, which finished as DII state runner-up after making the finals for the first time since 2015.

Catanese was the first player off the court Monday, thanks to his 6-0, 6-1 win over Akash Parikh. That came at No. 2 singles, but Catanese has been playing like a No. 1 all season in singles and doubles.

Last week, Catanese and senior Ethan Remy won a repeat sectional title, dropping only two games in four matches.

“It’s been a great year for singles and doubles,” Catanese said. “I try to play my best wherever Ron puts me (in the lineup).

“Because my volleys are good, I can serve and come in (behind them) in singles, and same things in doubles, although it’s a lot easier to win points that way in doubles.”

Remy, two-time Ohio Cardinal Conference Player of the Year, was a 7-6, 6-1 winner over Jack Kayse at No. 1 singles and freshman Tony Palmer won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 over Ian Marzano.

Palmer has rotated all season with senior Jake Halfhill in that seventh slot in Lex’s lineup. He has to be ready whenever his number is called.

“When I get my head straight, I play fine,” Palmer said. “It’s awesome to be part of this team because you get to play against better teams and even our practices are making me better Once in a while when you play someone like Ethan I’ll feed a ball to him and he’ll slap it into a corner and you can’t even get to it. It gets you every time.”

Gongwer and senior Karl Etzel beat Chris Thompson and Savith Vijendra 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles, while sophomore Cooper Remy and freshman Philip Etzel decisioned Michah Walker and Sahil Parikh 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.

The younger of the Etzel and Remy siblings were teased about playing much faster on the same side of the court than when they were on opposite sides of the net. In the sectional singles finals, they battled for nearly three hours before Cooper Remy prevailed 7-6, 6-4.

“That match was crazy,” Philip Etzel said.

They had more chemistry together Monday than one might expect for a doubles team thrown together for only the third time.

“We’re pretty chill with each other,” Remy said. “We know what each other’s strengths and weaknesses are.”

At this stage of the season, with his high school days winding down, every match is good preparation for college for Karl Etzel. He’ll continue his tennis career at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky.

Chin Tan, in his 31st year of running the men’s and women’s teams at his alma mater, has led the school to six NAIA national championships. Etzel will be joining a program that currently has no Americans on the men’s roster.

“When coach contacted me he said, ‘We want to get more (known) in the U.S. because I’ve only been able to recruit foreign kids,’” Etzel said. “I guess it’s because the school is in the middle of nowhere and most American dudes just want a party area.”

The University of the Cumberlands is a private school with an enrollment of 20,000. Etzel’s education as a former student of the Spanish Immersion School in Mansfield will come in handy.

“A lot of dudes (on the team) are Spanish, so I’ll be fine,” he said. “It will be fun. They’re like top 15 in the country. I may not play for a couple of years, but it will be fun. They’re legit.”

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington advances in Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Tournament