Canfield's duo has two more years to play

& lt;a href=mailto:bassetti@vindy.com & gt;By JOHN BASSETTI & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANFIELD -- Canfield High tennis players Renee Lesnett and Rachel McGowan -- both sophomores -- have as much to look forward to as they have to look back at.
"They achieved high," girls tennis coach Pat Pavlansky said.
In looking back, their combined singles record was 53-12 -- Lesnett 28-5 and McGowan 25-7.
Both made first-team All-Metro Athletic Conference for a second year in a row.
At the sectional tournament, McGowan was runner-up and Lesnett third. At the district level, Lesnett placed third and McGowan sixth.
Both reached state level
Both reached the state tournament and lost in the first round.
As freshmen, both had 20-plus wins; McGowan reached the district, while Lesnett qualified for state.
For their achievement, the pair was named Vindicator Players of the Year in girls tennis.
That bodes well for the two who are only halfway through.
Pavlansky likes what he's seen in their improvement through this season.
"McGowan has become much more consistent, and Lesnett has become more powerful. Both can still develop more to add to their games and they're determined to do that," Pavlansky said.
"They're pretty good players. Both played very well all season," he added. "Both wanted to go further at state, but it just didn't happen. I'm proud of them and I'm looking forward to them coming back next year."
For the regular season, Canfield finished 10th in the state in Division I in the coaches association poll.
In the team tournament, the Cardinals lost their regional final match to Massillon Jackson, which finished third in the state.
"That's no disappointment," Pavlansky said. "Next year, we'll be trying to get to Columbus as a team in the final four. That's definitely a team goal."
Unless plans change, Pavlansky's intention is to, again, use both as singles players for a third straight year.
Looking ahead
In looking forward, there will be a new wrinkle -- a doubles tournament in August.
"We've never done that," Pavlansky said of the new venture, which is the results of efforts by Canfield's athletic director (Lee Frey), Pavlansky and tennis parents.
Four teams are expected for the doubles tournament at the school on Aug. 28.
It will include defending Division I state champion Upper Arlington, as well as Division II state champion Hathaway Brown. Division I's third-round team this year, Rocky River Magnificat, is also on board.
"We'll have some of the best tennis in the state for sure and some of the best in state until October," Pavlansky said. "It should be a great day of tennis. You won't see any better tennis that day. We're trying to play better people more times to make ourselves better."
Arlington has the defending Div. I state champion in singles, the runner-up in singles and one girl from the defending state champion in doubles.
"It'll be a nice experience for our kids," Pavlansky said.
& lt;a href=mailto:bassetti@vindy.com & gt;bassetti@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;