The Miami Trace Panthers tennis team traveled to an invitational at River Valley High School with Upper Sandusky and Bucyrus Saturday morning.
“We took home the gold, winning the most courts and (earning) the most total points,” Miami Trace head coach Mitch Augenstein said.
Senior Juan Diego Gonzalez took home a first place medal, beating Upper Sandusky 8-2 in the first round and then advancing and beating River Valley 6-2, 6-1 in the finals.
Seth Leach (a senior) had a bye the first round, placing him in the finals against Upper Sandusky, where he won handily, 6-1, 6-2 for a first place finish.
Junior Nathan Taylor stepped in for his varsity debut, due to one of the varsity players being on vacation. He won his first round match against River Valley, 8-4, but ended up placing second overall at third singles, falling to Upper Sandusky, 4-6, 2-6.
For first doubles, juniors Matt Fender and Ely Schirtzinger won their first round match against Bucyrus, 8-0, but, like Nathan Taylor, they ended with a second place finish, falling to Upper Sandusky, 1-6, 2-6.
For second doubles, juniors Adam Ginn and Johnathan Allen paired up and lost a nail-biter against Upper Sandusky in the first round, 6-8, but took third place overall with an 8-2 win over Bucyrus.
“Overall, I am overwhelmed with joy and completely blessed with such a hard-working team,” Augenstein said. “Not only am I proud of the overall team victory, but it was such a neat experience to be at my old high school, against my old coach and other coaches I used to play against; it kind of brought my tennis life full circle.
“We are looking forward to hosting our own Doubles Tournament Saturday,” Augenstein said.
Miami Trace (currently 4-1 in the SCOL) will be at East Clinton Wednesday and home against Wilmington Friday at 4:30 p.m.
