Cards eyeing tourney success

Staff report

CANFIELD

Canfield knows all it takes is one bad day. The winning and success can be overshadowed by one loss.

Coach Rob Stephens’ girls have breezed through a 19-1 season as they prepare for the Division I sectional tennis tournament, which begins Wednesday in Canton. Stephens knows his team must stay consistent.

“All we have to do is lose once and it can ruin our season,” he said. “The next thing you know, we’re out of sectionals.”

Canfield will send sophomores Paige Zwicker and Allison Pavlansky, senior Katelyn Kaleel and junior Gabrielle Brant to sectionals for the doubles competition.

Pavlansky and Kaleel are the No. 1 seed at the sectional tournament, while Brant and Zwicker are the No. 2 seeds.

Zwicker and Brant are aiming to return to the district, where their 2009 season came to a halt.

Kaleel and Pavlansky will be paired up Wednesday and are excited about what lies ahead.

“Allie and I have been working really hard in preparing for sectionals,” Kaleel said. “We were three matches away from going to states and we unfortunately lost to Jackson. We’ve had a great season.”

The loss to Jackson came in the Ohio Scholastic Tennis Coaches state team tournament.

Competing in singles for the Cardinals will be Stephanie Carrocce, Nicole Chahine and Catherine Brown.

Boasting a previous 19-0 record also comes with the territory of being that team that opponents circle on their calendars. Stephens knows they are “that team.”

“Teams want their revenge [after the Jackson loss],” he said. “They’re going to come after us and give us their best game.”

Also competing in the Canton Div. I tournament are Austintown Fitch and Boardman.

For the Falcons, Ali Macioge, Sarah Ragan and Angela Murphy will compete in singles, while Nikki and Kellie Wenick are one doubles team, and Caitlin Sheridan and Victoria Phelps are the other.

Boardman will be represented by Lindsay Kirkham-Olsen, Arina Kravita and Michelle Kordupel in singles, and the doubles teams of Nicole Pavlansky and Rachel Cantanzriti, and Jen Moore and Kelly Kordupel.

The semifinals and finals in both singles and doubles are scheduled for Saturday.

In Div. II, 14 area teams will compete at the Boardman Tennis Complex.

The seeded singles players are Chelsea Ross of Warren JFK, Victoria Ferry of Liberty; Gabriella Lee of Warren JFK and Amy Noll of Poland.

In doubles, the No. 1 seeds are Gabrielle Brocker and Danielle Mullis of Poland, followed by Claudia Ricotti and Laurenica Lee of Warren JFK; Jordan Stefko and Kacey Haggerty of Cardinal Mooney, and Jillian Hickey and Tessa Rowlands of Lakeview.

The Div. II tournament will also run Wednesday and Saturday.