Canfield's dynamic duo earns trip to Columbus

Poland's top doubles team qualified for the state tournament in Division II.
ROCKY RIVER -- The weather wasn't exactly conducive to tennis on Saturday at Tri-City Park.
But that didn't seem to bother Canfield High juniors Rachel McGowan and Renee Lesnett.
"It's an outdoor sport. It's like playing a football game," Canfield coach Pat Pavlansky said. "As long as there wasn't precipitation on the court, we're going to play outdoors."
McGowan and Lesnett brushed aside the cool, windy weather and two opponents in the Division I district tournament.
Their reward? A trip to next weekend's state tournament in Columbus, the first for the McGowan-Lesnett team.
"It made for some funny points at times. The ball was flying everywhere," Pavlansky said of the weather. "You can't do anything but laugh it off sometimes, but the girls hung tough. Mentally, they're pretty strong."
McGowan and Lesnett defeated Shaker Heights 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals and Revere 6-3, 6-3 for the championship, running their doubles record to 8-0.
In both matches, the Cardinals' top two singles players throughout the regular season had to overcome slow starts by rallying together to victory.
"There haven't been too many district titles in Division I at Canfield, so we're pretty proud," Pavlansky said. "I'm just happy for both of them because they've worked very hard."
Division II
CANTON -- Poland came close to qualifying two doubles teams to next weekend's state tournament.
The Bulldogs will have to settle for one.
Samantha Gett and Jessica Mullis finished fourth in Saturday's district tournament to advance to their first state tournament.
Gett and Mullis lost to Walsh Jesuit 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals, dropping them to the third-place match, where they lost to Hathaway Brown 6-1, 6-0.
Poland's other team of Megan Bennett and Alexa Marino placed sixth, losing to Laurel 6-1, 6-4 for the final qualifying spot.
The Bulldogs had beaten Canton Central Catholic 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 to earn a berth in the fifth-place match.
Cardinal Mooney's Becca Brocker competed Saturday, but she lost to Elyria Catholic's Ashley Herrick 6-4, 6-3 in a consolation singles match.